AI-written books at Barnes & Noble? CEO clarifies statement that stirred calls for boycott - BERITAJA

Barnes & Noble was turning a page connected the chain’s history of declining sales, but caller comments person stirred bad humor for the bookseller.

James Daunt, the main executive credited pinch breathing new life into the retailer, is clarifying the store’s stance connected stocking its shelves pinch AI-written books.

The contention stems from Daunt’s Monday quality connected “Today” pinch Jenna Bush Hager. In a clip from the question and reply that went viral, Daunt said, “I person really nary problem trading immoderate book, arsenic agelong arsenic it doesn’t masquerade aliases dress to beryllium thing that it isn’t. So, arsenic agelong arsenic an AI-written book says it’s an AI-written book, past we will banal them,” Daunt said.

By Wednesday, thousands of calls to boycott the bookseller had flooded societal media.

Kathlin Finn, a writer and erstwhile worker of the chain, posted connected societal media, writing, “Hey Barnes & Not Noble, I worked for you and person supported you, but your latest AI determination is highly disappointing. I will not beryllium shopping aliases promoting B&N unless you alteration your AI policy.”

Author Cristin Bishara wrote, “As an writer this [is] the about depressing news. I’ve been saying for a agelong clip that this was coming. People told maine I was overreacting. And I had a emotion it would commencement pinch a tiny information array astatine the beforehand of a B&N.”

Another societal media personification added, “The Barnes & Noble CEO saying they’ll banal AI generated books arsenic agelong arsenic they’re branded and aren’t ‘ripping disconnected personification else’ is chaotic considering each generative AI is ripping disconnected personification else.”

Daunt told The Times that the activity of backlash is based connected misinterpretations of what he said, and that only a “highly edited version” of what the bookseller “actually said” had been aired.

In an emailed statement, he said the bookseller does not waste AI books, “as acold arsenic we are aware.” Barnes & Noble “demand[s] that publishers explanation immoderate books that are AI generated,” and the concatenation takes “active measures to exclude each AI generated books.”

Daunt further stated that Barnes & Noble “will waste AI generated books if location is clear demand” and not “ban reputable books published by reputable publishers, moreover if AI generated, should these beryllium published, branded and location beryllium clear grounds of customer demand.”

He besides said that the retailer thinks it’s “very unlikely” that location will beryllium customer request for AI-generated books aliases that reputable publishers will people them.

“The statement is nuanced, and possibly complete nuanced, but location are important principles that person to beryllium balanced and I judge we do truthful arsenic sensibly and thoughtfully arsenic is possible,” he said. “Book banning is simply a clear and coming danger, truthful we are very observant pinch demands to prohibition immoderate books” while besides remaining vigilant “not to waste AI generated books that masquerade to beryllium by existent authors.”

Last year, Daunt said pinch BBC connected the rumor of AI successful publishing and bookselling and said that there’s a immense proliferation of AI-generated content, and “most of it is not books that we should beryllium selling.” He told the broadcaster that, arsenic a bookseller, the institution sells what publishers people and that he’d beryllium amazed by efforts to put distant an “AI-generated portion of nonsense” but that, ultimately, the determination connected reference worldly would dishonesty pinch the reader.

“We don’t dictate, and we don’t dictate about authorities aliases immoderate different peculiar issues about books,” he said. “We time off it up to the scholar to decide.”

In June 2025, more than 70 authors issued a telephone to action to big-five publishers Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan, asking the companies to promise that they will ne'er merchandise books that were created by machines. Authors Lauren Groff, R.F. Kuang, Emma Straub and Emily Henry were among the petitioners.

“At its simplest level, our occupation arsenic artists is to respond to the quality experience. But the creation we make is simply a commodity, and our world wants things quickly, cheaply, and connected demand,” the missive read.

“We are rushing toward a early wherever our novels, our biographies, our poems and our memoirs — our records of the quality acquisition — are ‘written’ by artificial intelligence models that, by definition, cannot cognize what it is to beryllium human. To bleed, aliases starve, aliases love. ...

“Every clip a punctual is entered into AI, the connection that bot uses to respond was created successful portion done the synthesis of creation that we, the undersigned, person spent our careers crafting. Taken without our consent, without payment, without moreover the courtesy of acknowledgment.”

In March, Hachette pulled “Shy Girl” from publication aft wide allegations that the scary caller appeared to beryllium AI-generated and was swiftly scrubbed from Amazon and the Hachette website. The book’s author, Mia Ballard, denied that she had relied connected AI to pen the book but said an acquaintance she had hired to edit the caller utilized AI.

“Hachette remains committed to protecting original imaginative look and storytelling,” a Hachette spokeswoman said, per the New York Times.