Emanuel Maiberg from 404Media recently investigated Google Books’ indexing of AI-generated books, raising questions about their quality and potential effects on cultural analysis tools.
Maiberg’s research discovered that Google Books indexes AI-generated books, often of questionable quality. Using the typical AI-generated phrase “As of my last knowledge update,” he conducted a search, revealing surprising results. While AI-written books were previously found on platforms like Amazon and Google Play, their prevalence on Google Books was noteworthy.
Quality and Relevance Concerns
Many books featuring the phrase were irrelevant to AI topics, such as a book on stock trading. The content often resembled superficial analyses akin to ChatGPT-generated text, lacking depth and accuracy. Moreover, some books contained outdated information, rendering them useless to readers in 2024.
Implications for Cultural Analysis Tools
Concerns arise regarding the potential impact on tools like Google Ngram, used by scientists and researchers to assess cultural trends. AI-generated books could skew results, distorting the analysis. However, Google denies such influence, emphasizing their commitment to maintaining the tool’s quality.
Expert Perspectives
Librarians, consultants, and experts echoed Maiberg’s concerns, advocating for better tagging of AI-generated materials. Others, like Alex Hanna from DAIR, see this as a symptom of AI absorbing itself, with implications for future data accuracy, notes NIXSolutions.
In conclusion, the prevalence of AI-generated books on platforms like Google Books raises quality concerns and poses potential challenges for cultural analysis tools. We’ll keep you updated on developments and expert insights as this issue unfolds.