HarperCollins is asking authors to sell their books to the A.I. woodchipper

The post includes screenshots of communications between Kibblesmith and the agency that represented him on the book, which was passing on the publisher’s offer for the title (a well-reviewed and charming kids book that “tells the story of a Black Santa, his white husband, and their life in the North Pole”). Kibblesmith was apparently offered a non-negotiable $2,500 to allow his book to be bundled in with other works for training, covering a three-year period of use. The posted email, which invokes the specter that “these A.I. models may one day make us all obsolete,” also mentions that “several hundred authors” have already agreed to the deal, and emphasizes the stance that, hey, getting to paid to have your work fed into an A.I. woodchipper is better than having it stolen for that same purpose.

Kibblesmith did not agree, including in his post a screenshot of his rejection of the deal, which he called “Abominable.” In a statement to The A.V. Club, Kibblesmith wrote that, “It seems like they think they’re cooked, and they’re chasing short money while they can. I disagree. The fear of robots replacing authors is a false binary. I see it as the beginning of two diverging markets, readers who want to connect with other humans across time and space, or readers who are satisfied with a customized on-demand content pellet fed to them by the big computer so they never have to be challenged again.”

HarperCollins has not responded to requests for comment.