Publishing industry lays down AI rules to counter 'click-to-publish' books

One of South Korea’s two major publishing organizations has announced a set of principles for the use of artificial intelligence (AI), seeking to address mass-produced books created with AI, often referred to as “click-to-publish” books.

The Korea Publisher Society said the principles aim to ensure that books remain trusted in the AI era by clearly defining human responsibility and roles throughout the publishing process. The organization said it will use the establishment of the principles as a starting point for further efforts to improve systems protecting the rights of authors and publishers.

The Korea Publisher Society held a publishing and AI policy forum at Mapo Central Library in Seoul on Tuesday, where it unveiled the “Principles for the Use of AI by Publishers and Authors for Readers,” consisting of five chapters and 20 articles. Eleven organizations, including the Korea Publisher Society, the Writers Association of Korea and the Critics Alliance, participated in drafting the principles.

It marks the first time the publishing industry has established AI-related guidelines. The principles cover areas including the establishment of identification systems for AI use in production and distribution, guidelines on the use of training data and recommendations for contracts. Although the principles are not legally binding, they are significant as the publishing industry has established voluntary guidelines ahead of possible legal and institutional measures.

At the heart of the principles is the idea that “people are both the essential agents in creating books and those ultimately responsible for them.” Yoon Sung-hoon, chairman of the Publisher Society’s AI Future Strategy Committee, said, “AI is merely a tool and does not have the status of an author. If AI is used in the publishing process, that fact should be transparently disclosed to readers.” He added that “when publications are used as AI training data, the consent of rights holders and fair compensation must be guaranteed.”

Specific measures to support the principles were addressed during a panel discussion. Ryu Young-ho, a senior manager at Kyobo Book Centre who represented the bookselling industry, said that if issues such as the failure to disclose AI use in a book are discovered and distribution needs to be restricted, there should be clear grounds for such decisions as well as a procedure for publishers to raise objections. Translator Hong Han-byul emphasized the need to clarify translators’ responsibilities in the AI era, protect translation copyrights and provide support to preserve the translation ecosystem.

The Korea Publisher Society said it would work to make concrete institutional improvements based on the discussions.

“These standards are not intended to reject AI technology or put a scarlet letter on AI-generated content," society chairman Hong Young-wan said. “Although we still face the task of revising the Publishing Culture Industry Promotion Act and the Copyright Act, we will do our utmost to ensure that the entire process provides practical benefits to the publishing industry.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.