Big 3 US book publishers use AI in quiet revolt
harpercollins, simon & schuster, and hachette use llms like claude and chatgpt for publicity, cover art, and marketing, sparking staff revolt.
at least three of the big five us book publishers—harpercollins, simon & schuster, and hachette—have been quietly incorporating ai tools into their publishing processes without public disclosures or author consent. workers report that llms like claude and chatgpt are being used for tasks such as emailing literary agents, writing publicity and back-cover copy, designing cover art, and generating marketing materials. staff are expressing concerns over the legal, ethical, and environmental impacts of ai, and some have been tasked with becoming 'ai champions' to discover new use cases. the use of ai has sparked a revolt among staff, who feel that the tech is being forced upon them without adequate consideration for the consequences.