The Times also found that many of the five-star reviews left on these guidebooks were either extremely general or nonsensical. Amazon has an anti-manipulation policy for customer reviews, but the company has not specified whether any action has been taken against the producers of these AI-generated books. Some of the suspicious reviews were removed from many of the books The Times examined, and a few books were taken down. However, even when Amazon removes reviews, it can leave five-star ratings with no text, contributing to high overall ratings for these books.
Key takeaways:
- Amazon has seen a proliferation of shoddy guidebooks that appear to be compiled with the help of generative artificial intelligence, self-published and bolstered by sham reviews.
- These books are created using a mix of modern tools including A.I. apps that can produce text and fake portraits, websites with stock photos and graphics, self-publishing platforms, and the ability to solicit, purchase and post phony online reviews.
- Many of these books have risen to the top of Amazon search results and sometimes garner Amazon endorsements, misleading customers into purchasing them.
- Amazon has no rules forbidding content generated primarily by artificial intelligence, but the site does offer guidelines for book content, including titles, cover art and descriptions. However, enforcement of these guidelines appears to be inconsistent.