- A library in India has been accused of stocking shelves with books that have been partially or wholly AI generated
- Concerns were raised by an author who visited the library and spotted thousands of books purchased from a little-known publisher
- The books were apparently riddled with mistakes and inaccuracies, and were written by unfamiliar authors
There is a wide debate about whether AI will benefit or hinder the creative industries. You’ve likely seen adverts and posters plastered with AI slop outside restaurants and venues, or maybe you’ve come across a new song and wondered if it could be entirely AI generated.
Well now the problem has spread into libraries, with a brand new library in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu facing an investigation over allegations that the shelves have been stocked with AI generated books.
The Periyar Arivulagam library, built at a cost of 3 billion rupees ($34m, £26m), opened on October 16 and almost immediately received accusations from international recognized Tamil novelist Perumal Murugan that as many as 1,800 books purchased by the library may have been partially or wholly generated using AI.
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All of the books involved in the scandal were purchased from a singular publisher at unusually high prices, according to BBC reporting, with many of them containing false information, suspicious author names, and questionable International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN).
Accusations over who is to blame for the scandal have already begun flying, with the state government blaming the previous administration for purchasing the books in question — an allegation the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam denies.
According to Murugan, who raised the alarm in an online magazine after visiting the library, thousands of books in the Tamil section were written by unfamiliar authors, contained inaccurate or incorrect information, and were priced unreasonably high.
Tamil Nadu’s School Education Minister A Rajmohan said that if the accusations were to be true, it could be “India’s first AI scam.”
Concerns about books being partially or wholly written by AI stretch beyond the Periyar Arivulagam library. Two other libraries in India have been subject to scrutiny after inaccuracies were found within books, resulting in the state government ordering an internal audit of public library collections.
Over 160 writers, researchers, artists and publishers have signed a public statement calling for an independent inquiry into the Periyar Arivulagam library, alongside a public release of procurement records and an audit of other library collections across the state. It is so far unclear whether AI was used to create or alter the published books.
AI books are just the tip of the iceberg
The questions about the effects of AI stretch far beyond just one library. A recent study by Fizz has found that AI has permeated education with 96% of US college students using the technology. While there are debates about the benefits of AI technology in education, critics worry it could be harming the cognitive abilities and critical thinking skills of students.
Some schools have chosen to opt out of AI completely, hoping to maintain the educational standards and results of the pre-AI era, but have faced pushback from companies such as Google who have said they will disable Search in schools that opt out of AI as “Search and AI are deeply integrated.”
Authors, publishers, and illustrators have also taken a stand against AI, with many claiming their works have been used to train AI models without their permission. Bestselling author David Baldacci has recently taken a stand by launching a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming that the company has trained its models on his books.
The illustrator of The Gruffalo books Axel Scheffler has also said he is “seriously considering” legal action against AI companies after seeing the character depicted in posters and advertisements.
AI in academic and creative works is also becoming harder to detect with researchers predicting that AI will eventually be able to correct its own writing style until the traditional detection signals are erased entirely.
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