Hachette Book Group has said it will not publish the novel Shy Girl because of the use of artificial intelligence to generate the text.
The novel was scheduled to be published in the United States this spring. Hachette said the book will also be discontinued in the United Kingdom, where it is already available.
Although the publisher claims that the decision came after a thorough review of the text, the reviewers Good Readings and YouTube speculated that the book was created by artificial intelligence. And The New York Times reported on this asked Hachette about her “Shy Girl” concerns the day before the announcement.
In an email to the NYT, author Mia Ballard denied using artificial intelligence to write her novel, instead blaming an acquaintance she hired to edit the original, self-published version of Shy Girl. Ballard said he filed a lawsuit and said the dispute “has left my mental health at an all-time low and ruined my name for something I personally didn’t do.”
Writer Lincoln Michel and other industry observers noted US publishers rarely edits extensively when they get the titles already printed in other forms.
