The Society of Authors (SoA) has launched a new scheme which enables authors to declare that their work has not been created using generative AI.

A new ‘Human Authored’ logo will be available for use on works where authors have signed a declaration that their work has not been produced using a generative AI model (use for ‘assistive purposes’ such as spelling and grammar checks, brainstorming, or research is permitted). Readers will also be able to search the ‘Human Authored’ database for books that are not AI-generated.

The scheme, created in partnership with the US Authors Guild, is part of the SoA’s wider work to draw attention to the threats posed by generative AI to its members, including its call for the Government to implement a “new AI regulatory framework to protect the livelihoods of authors and other creatives, or risk the UK’s £124.6 billion creative industries”.

Explaining the motivation behind the scheme, the Human Authored website states:

“Readers who value the skill, empathy and imagination it takes to craft an original work should be able to clearly distinguish these from AI-generated content. Authors need to showcase and protect their creative labour whilst being paid fairly for it.

Whilst the onus should be on tech companies to label AI-generated content, until that happens, this additional labelling can help to identify the work of authors as being created with uniquely human skill and originality”.

The scheme is currently only available to SoA members and limited to text-based work. However, the aspiration is that it will be open to non-members and apply to illustrated works in the future.

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