Meta/Facebook/Mark Zuckerburg pirated millions of books

 

Meta/Facebook/Mark Zuckerburg pirated millions of books

Last week The Atlantic published a search tool that allows authors to check if their works are in LibGen, an illegal pirate site AI companies copied for their AI systems. The list has more than 7.5 million books that were copied by Meta and other AI companies.

All of my novels were pirated without permission, notice or any payment whatsoever. In the spirit of writers-have-to-eat-too-including me-myself-and-I, and I-never-met-anyone-in-big-tech-who-was-cool, I wasn’t even offered a share in Meta or any AI company for the contribution I made but didn’t agree to.

Here are key links writers and readers might be interested in:

The Authors Guild – What Authors Need to Know

https://authorsguild.org/news/meta-libgen-ai-training-book-heist-what-authors-need-to-know/

The Atlantic – Article

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/libgen-meta-openai/682093/

The Atlantic Search Tool

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/search-libgen-data-set/682094/

Hope this helps.

https://www.robertellis.net

ROBERT ELLIS WRITERS BLOG

03/23/2025

Erasing a Writer's Voice by AI

 

 

ERASING A WRITER’S VOICE by AI

I asked an AI prompt a simple question: Do you worry about AI stepping on an author’s voice?

The answer I got surprised me on many levels.

AI: "That’s a great question. AI is a powerful tool, but when it comes to writing, voice is everything. A great author’s voice—like Elmore Leonard’s razor-sharp dialogue—comes from experience, instinct, and a deep understanding of character and story. That’s something AI can analyze but not truly replicate.

"What does worry me is the possibility of AI-generated writing flooding the market with bland, soulless imitations. Great crime fiction, or any storytelling for that matter, thrives on originality, nuance, and a personal touch. AI can help with brainstorming, editing, or organizing ideas, but it can’t replace an author’s unique perspective—their lived experiences, emotions, and creative risks."

That’s the quote. I just hope that if I ever pick up a book written using AI that I’ll sense it before I get to the second page. If it’s a film, well, good luck.

https://www.robertellis.net

ROBERT ELLIS WRITERS BLOG

03/20/2025