AI Continues to Test Authors' Patience: Installment 349235
Unauthorized Book Scanning by Prosecraft Sparks Outcry from Authors and Leads to Website Shutdown
chandni
In an unexpected turn of events on Monday morning, a multitude of authors were met with the disconcerting revelation that their literary works had been uploaded and processed within an expansive dataset without obtaining their prior consent. This endeavor, orchestrated by cloud-based word processing platform Shaxpir through its Prosecraft project, involved the compilation of more than 27,000 books. The books were subjected to a comprehensive analysis, ranking, and comparison based on the criterion of linguistic "vividness."
Prominent literary figures, such as the influential Young Adult author Maureen Johnson and the acclaimed creator of "Little Fires Everywhere," Celeste Ng, raised their voices against Prosecraft for utilizing their literary creations to train a model without securing explicit permission. Astonishingly, even books released less than a month prior had been surreptitiously incorporated into the dataset.
The backlash against Prosecraft gained momentum throughout the day as authors and their supporters expressed vehement objections through online platforms. In response to the mounting criticism, Benji Smith, the visionary behind Prosecraft, ultimately chose to take down the website that had been operational since 2017.
Reflecting on the controversy, Smith conveyed his perspective, stating, "I've dedicated countless hours to the development of this project—meticulously refining and annotating text, methodically organizing and fine-tuning various elements." He went on to acknowledge the emergence of "AI" and its subsequent associations, highlighting how early applications of AI have enabled effortless replication of artists' work, thereby sidelining creators from their own creative processes.
