Publisher pulls horror novel ‘Shy Girl’ over concerns about artificial intelligence

Hachette Book Group said it will not publish a novel called “The Shy Girl” due to concerns that artificial intelligence was used to create the text.

The novel was scheduled to be published in the United States this spring. Hachette said it would also discontinue the book in the UK, where it is already available.

Although the publisher claimed that the decision came after a comprehensive review of the text, the reviewers persisted Goodreads and YouTube He speculated that the book was likely created by artificial intelligence. and The New York Times said I asked Hachette about “shy girl” concerns the day before the announcement.

In an email to The New York Times, author Mia Ballard denied using artificial intelligence to write her novel, instead blaming an acquaintance she hired to edit the original self-published version of “Shy Girl.” Ballard said she is taking legal action, and as a result of the controversy, “my mental health is at an all-time low, and my name has been ruined for something I personally didn’t even do.”

Writer Lincoln Mischel and other industry observers have noted that American publishers You rarely do extensive editing When they obtain titles that have previously been published in other formats.