Amazon has frequently faced criticism over the past year for the proliferation of AI-generated books on its platform. Despite changing its Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) policy to require users to disclose the use of AI technology, the situation remains far from resolved.

Futurism first reported spotting advertisements for AI-generated books on several Kindle devices, which are among the world’s most popular e-readers. Users have noted that some of these AI written books are conspicuously appearing as ads on the Kindle’s lock screen.

Read: Rory Cellan-Jones calls Amazon AI-generated bio ‘utter tosh’

The e-commerce giant offers certain device models at a subsidised price by incorporating personalised advertising. In the US, Amazon sells Kindles, including the popular Kindle Paperwhite, with a $20 discount from its retail price of $189.99 for versions that are “ad-supported.” These Kindle e-readers show advertisements as screensavers when the device is asleep and on the home screen, labelled as “Sponsored.” Similarly, Fire tablets display ads on the lock screen. Customers have the option to remove this feature for an additional $20.

Amazon Kindle ads and AI: unwanted bedtime stories on users’ lock screens

At the beginning of 2024, a Reddit user raised the issue, noting that for the past ten years, they had no problem with ads on their screen. However, this changed recently when “it started flooding the ads with AI-generated children’s books.”

Another angry user said that for weeks, “the only ads I get now seem to be these AI kid’s stories when I’ve never gotten a children’s book from [Kindle Unlimited].”

Upon reviewing the website, it appears that several books still follow the same formula. The imagery style seems nearly identical, with uniform fonts, questionable author names, and all seem to be published on the same date in March. These books also appear to be seasonal, featuring Easter-related themes. On top of that, the authors either have produced dozens of books on consecutive days or only one piece of work. Some book covers have also been replaced with other AI-generated derivatives.

Here’s a brief selection of book titles we’ve found and noticed on social media: “The Forbidden Guardian,” “The Memory of Detective’s Quest,” “Tournament of Magic,” “The Secrets Beneath the Big Top,” and “Guardians of the Dream Realm.” The list goes on. For some bizarre reason, a significant amount of these books are categorised as ‘Bedtime Stories for Kids and Adults.’

Amazon’s response to AI-generated content: new policies and quality control challenges

In response to these finds, an Amazon spokesperson told How To Be Books: “We aim to provide the best possible shopping, reading, and publishing experience, and we are constantly evaluating developments that impact that experience, which includes the rapid evolution and expansion of generative AI tools.

“All books in the store must adhere to our content guidelines, regardless of how the content was created. We both proactively prevent books from being listed as well as remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines.”

They added: “Amazon’s ad policies aim to maintain a high customer experience bar for the ads that we show and all ads must meet Amazon Advertising Guidelines and Acceptance policies.”

It’s also important to note that not all books that seemed AI-generated were actually made with the technology. Amazon has stated that non-compliant books have also been removed.

Read: AI-generated book appears on Amazon imitating AI expert Melanie Mitchell

The company faces an uphill battle with these publications, having had to remove books last year that imitated real authors such as Melanie Mitchell and Jane Friedman. Not to mention, the online bookstore had to get rid of some highly questionable AI-generated books on mushroom foraging in 2023, problematic over the fact that picking the wrong variety could be fatal. There was also a huge backlash after AI-generated books surfaced making unfounded allegations about King Charles’ health.

As a result, Amazon introduced a new AI policy requiring books primarily generated by artificial intelligence to include a clear disclosure statement. This policy was designed to make it obvious to readers that the content was AI-generated. Unfortunately, another policy also allowed the publication of up to three books per day, a decision that has faced criticism. Critics argue that this limit is still excessively high and that it is unrealistic to expect the publication of three quality books within a single day.