Last week, several publications in the U.K., among them the Bookseller and the Guardian, revealed that the Netherlands’ largest publisher, Veen Bosch & Keuning (VBK), which was bought by Simon & Schuster in May, had announced plans to use artificial intelligence for English-language translations. The news prompted immediate pushback from industry organizations.

"We're using AI to assist in the translation of a limited number of books," Vanessa van Hofwegen, VBK's commercial director, said. "This project contains less than 10 titles—all commercial fiction. No literary titles will nor shall be used." Van Hofwegen added that the initiative focuses on titles with limited English-language market potential: "We're only including books where English rights have not been sold, and we don't foresee the opportunity to sell English rights of these books in the future."

A spokesperson for the publisher maintained that human oversight will remain central to the translation process. "We are not creating books with AI—it all starts and ends with human action," the spokesperson said. "There will be one editing phase, and authors have been asked to give permission."

Industry reacts

The announcement comes amid growing industry concerns about AI's impact on translation work. On November 18, PEN America condemned the move, calling for more investment in translation and translators, as it advocated for in its 2023 Manifesto on Literary Translation.

"The purported distinction that this trial is for commercial fiction and not literary works speaks to the global publishing industry’s lack of appreciation for the art of translation and the vital role of literary translators in providing context, style, voice, and nuance to the texts they render in other languages," said PEN and the PEN America Translation Committee, in a statement. "Translators cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence. Culture cannot be automated without causing harm to literature and global culture. We urge them to reconsider their decision."

In speaking with the Guardian, Ian Giles, cochair of the Society of Authors’ Translators Association in the U.K., cited a recent survey indicating that over a third of translators have already lost work due to generative AI. He called VBK’s news “concerning.”

The industry's reservations have been growing for some time. Earlier this year, the issue of AI translations was a topic at the London Book Fair, where a panel of experts, including Society of Authors CEO Nicola Solomon, expressed fears about AI potentially negatively impacting the quality of translations and the potential for job losses.

In June, the Author's Guild released four new model clauses concerning AI to its Model Trade Book Contract and Literary Translation Model Contract.The new clauses require an author’s written consent for their publisher to use AI-generated book translations, audiobook narration, or cover art, and follow the Guild’s introduction of a similar clause that prevents books from being used to train generative AI without an author’s permission.

S&S leadership responds

At the Frankfurt Book Fair's annual CEO talk this year, S&S CEO Jonathan Karp was asked about rumors regarding VBK's plans to experiment with AI translations, and whether such innovation would be embraced by a publishing community that is traditionally conservative about implementing new technologies—especially ones that have bearing on copyright. Karp answered indirectly, focusing instead on addressing VBK’s broader innovations and entrepreneurial spirit, which he said was part of the appeal in acquiring the company.

"VBK really has been innovative in the audio end,” Karp said. “They've been a leader in that market in developing audio, creating podcasts, and books. The translation part of it really didn't factor into our thinking very much, except in the general sense that as AI gets better, translation will get easier, and that could be a very exciting thing for all of our publishing companies."

Noting that many VBK authors control their own rights, Karp continued: "There are a lot of potential benefits down the line. The larger question about innovation in the publishing business is about servicing the authors in a really clear, fair-minded way and communicating with them well enough so that they trust us." He added that "Simon & Schuster has always had a really good metabolism as a company. We've always been able to change and innovate—we were one of the first companies to really go digital successfully, and I think we'll be able to make the next step too."

Speaking on the same panel as Karp in Frankfurt, Richard Sarnoff—chairman of media, entertainment, and education for S&S parent company KKR, who is also a PEN America trustee—continued Karp’s line of thinking, again focusing not specifically on AI translation, but on AI voices.

"I might add, we shouldn't underestimate our authors in terms of conservative versus progressive thinking," Sarnoff said. "We have a lot of authors who are very progressive and want experimentation across formats. When it comes to AI voice, if the only economic way to publish an audiobook in twelve different Indian dialects would be through AI, it becomes a question of ‘do you want it out there, or not?’"

He continued: "We're going to try to serve the author and the book the best way we can. As things stand today, human voice is the best way we can serve the authors in the core languages where we are producing books. If there is a circumstance where that's no longer the case, the author will come right along with us and wants to do the best they can for their own good."