On January 29th, the Authors Guild announced that they would be launching their “Human Authored” certification. This certification would be a means of helping writers and publishers to prove their book is written by a human being instead of a generative artificial intelligence (AI). It would also help “distinguish their work in increasingly AI-saturated markets.”
In the FAQ on the Authors Guild’s website about the certification, they anticipated the question of what happens if someone simply lies about a book not being written by generative AI1:
9. How will the Authors Guild prevent misuse of the certification mark?
If someone uses the certification mark without obtaining a license, it is trademark infringement. Likewise, if someone executes a license and uses the mark for a work for which text was AI-generated, it is a breach of the license, infringement, and fraudulent representation to the consumer. In either case, the Authors Guild will take appropriate enforcement action upon discovering any such uses, whether through monitoring or community reporting.
10. Will you vet the books before issuing the mark? If not, what is to prevent scammers from using the mark?
We have implemented a self-certification system with enforcement against those who misuse our mark, as is typical, and have certain measures in place to prevent use by scammers, such as limits on the number of new titles that can be registered in a year (exceptions will be made with express permission), the issuance of a unique registration number for each title, and a fee for use by non-members. We will also ask authors and readers to report any instances of misuse that they encounter. The unique registration number can be searched in our database. That will help against scammers and others who use the mark without a license.
Both answers essentially say there is no preventative measure in place, but if the Authors Guild finds out about any misuse they will respond rather unpleasantly. Although creatively bankrupt, capitalistically-minded people will use generative AI and try to pass it off as human-made anyway, there is a simple hope they will not go through the trouble and risk of setting up a verified account with the Guild. As these technological parasites continue to siphon creativity and water from the world, we all must be more discerning with what and how we consume media.
People readily judge a book by its cover.2 In addition to a reliance on tastemakers on social media, readers are increasingly reliant on subcategories and tags to discern whether a book is for them. From prospective readers to booksellers, everyone needs a way to cut through the torrent of books published at any given time.
There can be no separation of art from the artist, because that is generative AI’s main mission.
But what about us as writers and readers? As writers, we each have something unique to offer due to the experiences and intersectionalities we possess. With these qualities, we should push ourselves to go beyond creating content to making something with intention and significance to ourselves. Content is something that generative AI can easily produce because all it requires are predictable formulas, preestablished ideas, and mediocre writing. They cannot hold the amalgamation of identities, experiences, and intention which inevitably creates something impactful and novel. And our power as human writers is how we inspire through these things that make up who we are, not simply in how we inspire through our writing.
That is why we should be open to sharing those parts of ourselves with our audience. To cut through all of the noise, we need our audience to go beyond reading our work, and root for us as human beings. This can be scary, because we cannot present people a perfect person immune to attack or criticism. By simply being authentically who you are, you will always make enemies, because you are not what your enemies want you to be. So in the words of the late, great Bernie Mac:
FUCK ‘EM!
By being our authentic selves as human beings, we will attract the people who are aligned with who we are and what we want to accomplish. Give your audience an opportunity to celebrate you, inside and outside the page.
There can be no separation of art from the artist, because that is generative AI’s main mission. It is how our work and creativity can be sold and marketed while cutting us out of the picture. As much as generative AI may try to mimic organic writing and art, it can never be human. You will never be able to run into Chat-GPT on the street, find DeepSeek at a bookstore, or Midjourney in an artist alley. As writers, we should make sure our audiences don’t only exist in a singular online platform. We should also find them in our local offline communities as well.
As for readers, we should show discernment in the writers (and publishers) we devote our limited time on Earth to and how we support them, just as we should in our personal lives. When meeting and interacting with people offline, we have an idea of what we will or will not tolerate. There are things we can hold with nuance, and things we have no patience for that are unique to who we are as individuals. You don’t have to like everybody, or even give anybody another chance if you don’t feel compelled to do so. There’s always the off-chance that you will miss out on a good book or story, but what’s most important is that you do you.
As you read this essay, I want you to use that same discernment as you continue to engage with my writing.
My long term goal as a writer is to build an audience who not only fucks with what I write, but also wants to support me as another human being. I have a Buy Me A Coffee so that people can materially help me continue to make time for my chosen art and passion. I want people to follow my evolution as a writer and be here for the writer I am in the present, and not the writer I used to be. I write for myself, but know that I also write to share pieces of myself with you that can only fit onto a page. When I eventually begin self-publishing my novels and collections of short stories, I want my audience to read my work because of who I am beyond the pages and retain them because of what is in the pages. And for new readers, I want to attract them through my writing and keep them because of who I am after the story ends. And they should know that I am human.
This is why I will seek out a Human Authored certification for each of my books when they are finished. The Authors Guild’s “Human Authored” certification is a step in the right direction to help booksellers and readers with their discernment, but it isn’t an airtight solution by itself. A complete solution to generative-AI is having community that goes beyond the computer or phone screen. How you build it as a writer will be unique to what you bring to the table, and how you find it as a reader will be unique to what you are looking for. While we use platforms like Substack and Instagram to find our people, we should strive to build ways of connecting with each other beyond them.
We must be the accreditation needed to certify each other’s humanity.
Thank you for reading Queen’s Muse! Support my work by buying me a book or becoming a member over at Buymeacoffee.com. Each and every contribution counts!
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Transcribed as of April 7th, 2025.
Cover designers could hold the entire industry ransom, as is their just due, which is probably why the publishing industry made an attempt to dislodge them from their perch with generative AI.