WHAT IF
Amazon Replaces Human Authors with AI
Tech giant Amazon has secretly developed advanced artificial intelligence systems that can generate full-length novels and non-fiction books from user searches alone, according to anonymous sources. The company’s “Storyteller” project, long thought to be defunct, but supposedly secretly active for over two years, has evidently produced work for dozens of AI “authors” whose books have gone to the top of Amazon’s sale charts, several even becoming New York Times bestsellers, or nominated for major awards in science fiction.
Amazon’s goal, according to this unverified source, is to replace all human authors and generate a vast range of fictional and non-fictional content through algorithms and neural networks it wholly owns. Some say the project has already produced many successful AI-generated books in multiple genres, and it is rumored to be the true author of nearly all of its television shows, which explains why they are so flat and weird. Though none of this has been confirmed as of this writing, experts speculate that by controlling the “full stack” of content creation and distribution, and then subsequent licensing of content and technology it wholly owns, Amazon stands to gain unprecedented control over a publishing industry it basically already controls anyway.
Human authors on Human Website have said that the project signifies a dark future for human creativity, and is further evidence of the decline of humanity in a world eclipsed by algorithms, that values “likes” over authenticity. If this turns out to be true, it may be that Amazon aims to remove all copyrighted works from its platform in favor of AI-generated books and simulations of human authors that can be tightly controlled and tailored to user data. With AI doing the work of writers, the human imagination faces the threat of forced obsolescence — or adaptation (perhaps even leading to reinvention & renaissance).
According to sources, the “Storyteller” team has made alarming progress and human-level fiction generation is a solved problem. Neural networks can now craft not just short stories but also compelling full-length novels, with coherent multi-chapter plots, complex characters, and evocative prose, and even photorealistic images — skills that were thought unattainable for machines mere months ago. The Storyteller team is rumored to now be working on transitioning this technology to building fully immersive XR worlds from its AI generated books for Apple’s new headset, and its own unnamed proprietary reality control technology, which critics have dubbed “Sauron.”
With its vast data and resources, Amazon is poised to dominate as creative fields become automated. The tech giant has a history of investing in robots and AI to perform human jobs at high volume and low cost. By generating its own content, Amazon can cut costs and gain more control over the customer experience. For authors and readers alike, the implications are as profound as they are ominous.
Or at least that’s what an AI told me.
If it’s not true today, it will be someday soon.
