Rakuten Kobo rejects 45% of submissions due to AI concerns

Rakuten Kobo, a major digital book retailer, reported that 45% of books submitted through its Kobo Writing Life self-publishing platform were rejected last year. The majority of these rejections were linked to works that appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence. In one instance, an unknown publisher submitted approximately one thousand books.

Michael Tamblyn, President and CEO of Rakuten Kobo, expressed concern that the rise of AI-generated content could make it more difficult for readers to discover original authors and works.

These developments have fueled debates at the Frankfurt Book Fair regarding the protection of copyrights and the ability to verify authorship. The industry is currently grappling with the challenge of identifying AI-assisted texts, highlighted by recent controversies where authors faced accusations of using AI to write acclaimed novels.