According to a new report from the University of Cambridge, over half (51%) of published British novelists believe that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to completely replace their writing work. The report, released by the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy (MCTD) at the University of Cambridge, aims to explore the impact and application of AI in British novel writing.
In the survey, nearly two-thirds (59%) of novelists said their works have been used to train large language models (LLMs) without permission or payment. At the same time, 39% of novelists said their income has already been affected by generative AI, such as a reduction in income due to the loss of other writing-related jobs. Most novelists (85%) expect their future income to decrease due to the impact of AI.
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The report points out that genre novelists are considered the most vulnerable group to be replaced by AI. Among them, 66% of respondents believe that the work of romance novelists is "extremely threatened," followed by 61% of thriller novelists and 60% of crime novelists. Nevertheless, the majority of novelists do not have an entirely negative attitude toward AI; 80% of respondents believe that AI brings benefits to certain parts of society. In fact, about one-third (33%) of novelists use AI in their writing process, mainly for "non-creative" tasks such as information search.
However, many writers express concerns about the potential impact of AI in creation, especially regarding originality. They worry that if the use of AI is not disclosed, it may lead to a breakdown of trust between authors and readers. Some novelists even said they found books published under their names but not created by them on Amazon.
Additionally, the study found that the vast majority of novelists (97%) hold a "very negative" attitude toward AI completely writing novels. For editing texts, nearly half (43%) of novelists also expressed aversion to AI's involvement. As AI continues to develop, many writers are concerned that the market will be flooded with AI-generated books, leading to their works being marginalized, and even making human-written novels become a "luxury."
This research shows that novelists generally hope to maintain copyright in the creative process, requiring AI companies to be transparent about the training data they use. Many novelists call on the government to take measures to protect the rights of creators to ensure their work is not used or exploited arbitrarily.
Key Points:
📚 Over 51% of British novelists believe AI may completely replace their creative work.
🤖 Nearly two-thirds of novelists said their works have been used as AI training data without permission.
🔍 Most novelists have a negative attitude toward AI, especially concerning originality and income.
