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AWS Requires KDP Authors to Disclose AI Generated Content

AWS says self-publishers on its Kindle platform who use AI-generated content could get bounced.

• By David Ramel
• October 2, 2023

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is now requiring self-publishers on its Kindle platform to disclose whether their uploads are AI-generated. This new requirement unveiled as AWS’s "Addition of AI Questions to KDP Publishing Process."

Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) allows authors to self-publish eBooks, paperbacks, and hardcover books for free. Although AWS hasn’t detailed the exact steps post disclosure, the company's KDP Content Guidelines make it evident that AI-generated content that breaches guidelines may be rejected or removed from the platform.

The move comes as fellow cloud giant Microsoft announced it would assume responsibility for copyright risks associated with the use of its Copilot AI assistants.

"As customers ask whether they can use Microsoft's Copilot services and the output they generate without worrying about copyright claims, we are providing a straightforward answer: yes, you can, and if you are challenged on copyright grounds, we will assume responsibility for the potential legal risks involved," said Microsoft in a Sept. 7 post, "Microsoft announces new Copilot Copyright Commitment for customers."

AWS has clearly differentiated between AI-generated content and AI-assisted content, with the former needing disclosure and adherence to content guidelines.

"We are actively monitoring the rapid evolution of generative AI and the impact it is having on reading, writing, and publishing, and we remain committed to providing the best possible shopping, reading, and publishing experience for our authors and customers," AWS said in a statement. "To that end, beginning today, when you publish a new title or make edits to and re-publish an existing title through KDP, you will be asked whether your content is AI-generated. Learn more about how we define AI-generated content."

Microsoft is taking accountability for copyright challenges tied to its Copilot AI assistant. If customers are slapped with copyright claims over content generated using Copilot, Microsoft has pledged to cover potential legal ramifications.

"As customers ask whether they can use Microsoft's Copilot services and the output they generate without worrying about copyright claims, we are providing a straightforward answer: yes, you can, and if you are challenged on copyright grounds, we will assume responsibility for the potential legal risks involved," Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President at Microsoft and Hossein Nowbar, the company's CVP and Chief Legal Officer, wrote in a blog post. Microsoft said in recent post.

In a recent blog post, author Jane Friedman criticized Amazon for "garbage books" being wrongly attributed to her, and demanding stricter authorship verification. "We desperately need guardrails on this landslide of misattribution and misinformation," she wrote. "Amazon and Goodreads, I beg you to create a way to verify authorship, or for authors to easily block fraudulent books credited to them. Do it now, do it quickly."

On Aug 7, she posted that her official Goodreads profile was cleaned of the offending titles, but Amazon was requiring her to produce "trademark registration numbers that relate to your claim." On August 16, she wrote on the Hot Sheet site that the Amazon books had been removed from sale, "... but my initial infringement claim with Amazon went nowhere."

AI-driven content generation tools, while revolutionary, are stirring IP concerns on several fronts. GitHub’s Copilot, Microsoft’s AI programmer, was the subject of a recent lawsuit citing potential IP infringement of millions of GitHub users. Comedian sued Meta and OpenAI for copyright infringement. Google has been sued over "AI data scraping. Issues around content ownership by AI platforms and potential infringement risks are far from being ironed out. But the big cloud providers actively seeking resolutions to the pressing IP challenges of AI-generated content.

 The tech industry is eagerly awaiting the next moves. Keep an eye on this space for updates.