Webinar - The impact of AI on the quality and quantity of book releases

Since the appearance of Large Language Models in 2022, new book releases have tripled, raising a question of AI’s impact on book quality. New research is presented by Joel Waldfogel (Frederick R. Kappel Chair in Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota) on how LLMs have reshaped the publishing sector, and the impact of AI on both the volume and perceived quality of books entering the market.

The research develops a ratings-based measure to compare quality across different book release vintages. The analysis finds that the wave of titles released during the AI influx period has lower average quality overall. However, the results also show that quality has improved among the top 1,000 monthly releases within each category, although not the top 100, and that these gains are strongest in categories experiencing the fastest growth in new titles. The study further finds that authors entering the market since the rise of LLMs tend to produce predominantly lower-quality work, while the output quality of pre-LLM authors has increased.

During the session, Joel Waldfogel will discuss the study’s data, methodology and findings. There will be time for Q&A following the presentation.

Speakers

Joel Waldfogel - Frederick R. Kappel Chair in Applied Economics, University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management

Giorgio Fazio (chair) - Professor of Macroeconomics, Newcastle University 

This 1-hour talk is part of Creative PEC‘s Seminar Series.