The Authors Guild has launched a certification system, “Human Authored,” intended to provide authors and publishers with a way to distinguish their work in an “increasingly AI-saturated market.” The system will provide an official mark on books registered by its author or publisher through a public database, indicating whether the text of a book was written by a human.
“AI-generated books are flooding online marketplaces and increasingly look like, and sometimes even read like human-authored books,” the Guild said in a statement. “Readers may not know if a book they come across is AI-generated or authored by a human. The Authors Guild believes that readers have the right to know if AI or a human wrote a text, and that writers should be able to distinguish their work in increasingly AI-saturated markets.”
The Human Authored logo and name will be registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Use of the mark is restricted to books and other works “written by a human and not generated by AI, with the exception of minimal, trivial uses, such as AI applications that check spelling and grammar or for brainstorming or research,” the Guild said. Certification is currently only available for Authors Guild members and for books written by a single author.
The certification process involves four steps:
- Log into the Human Authored portal
- Submit book details and verify the information
- Sign the license agreement, agreeing to use the mark only as permitted
- Receive a unique, numbered certification mark for use on book covers, spines, or promotional materials
“The Human Authored initiative isn't about rejecting technology—it's about creating transparency, acknowledging the reader’s desire for human connection, and celebrating the uniquely human elements of storytelling," said Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, in a statement. “Authors can still qualify if they use AI as a tool for spell-checking or research, but the certification connotes that the literary expression itself, with the unique human voice that every author brings to their writing, emanated from the human intellect. In a market increasingly filled with AI-generated content, readers deserve to know whether they're experiencing authentic human creativity.”