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The tool definitely has its uses. Using AI as a technical middleware tool to compile and organize vast research data for a policy whitepaper or structural project is highly efficient. But relying on it to auto-generate a book is completely different—that just floods the system with unearned slop.

Isn’t there a ruling that AI can’t be copyrighted somewhere in the US case law already?

That is so true.

Yes, I do. Even a bad book written by human contains human thoughts, ideas, concepts, emotions. There is something there worth engaging with. A book generated by machine has none of those things. Sure, it’s full of words. But those words have all the meaning of a parrot going “Polly want a cracker.”

Oh, you were never engaging in good faith. Thanks for letting us know nothing you say has value. You and LLMs have that in common.

Also like the AI was built by stealing from every actual author

As long as it's about compensation and intellectual property there is no fucking solution to the problem.

Yes it does. Some bad books written by humans are so bad they’re good. AI slop is so bad because it is utterly devoid of any worth.

Nothing but obfuscation from our overlords in tech

The support for Carney in this country is proof positive that at least two thirds of the jagoffs the live here are unconcerned with the actual action so long as the words sound good enough.

I’m very aware of those users—just a bit amazed at what gets traction sometimes

good Canada is doing it every country should

AI companies are buying up, ingesting, & subsequently destroying tonnes of books; they're buying by ISBN. AI-generated books will (by dint of being ineligible for ISBN due to their status as AI-generated) be immune to this doom. This is something to ponder.

Very good decision.

sadly it's probably going to be similar with this interaction with the US copyright office bsky.app/profile/ceci...

Can non-Canadians apply for a Canadian ISBN? I’d guess a lot of the slop books come from elsewhere.

We DO have the government funds to follow up on any breaking of the honor system though. It is part of what our tax dollars pay for. And the loss of eligibility for tax credits, EI, etc. usually more than pays back any investigation costs. Plus people WILL likely report these AI books.

That certainly fits the AI fraud profile.

Defrauding the Canadian Government is usually a serious criminal offense. And it would likely cascade. The government will be all up in your business.

An honor system only filters out the honest. ISBNs were a provenance signal, and once the lie is free the signal's worthless. Enforcement isn't red tape here — it's the product.

I think Collections Canada got inundated with requests for ISBN accounts. It went from 10 days to get your account approved to two months.

Interesting! Thanks!

Okay, in other countries they are sold by private companies.

The declaration that you're not registering AI works is made to Libraries and Archives Canada, not to a random corporation.

it'll absolutely write smut.

WTG Canada!

Yay Canada!

Most AI slop doesn't even have an ISBN, tons of it is ebook-only KDP uploads that skip ISBNs entirely. Canada's rule only catches books trying to look legit, not the actual flood.

Why do I get the idea that the actual problem is a backlog of slop publishers applying for blocks of ISBNs?

This is a great way to handicap yourself.