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HarperCollins wanted to use its authors' works to train an artificial intelligence language model for an unnamed technology company. The publishing company planned to pay the writers of select nonfiction backlist titles a non-negotiable sum of US$2,500 per title (around CA$3,490) to license the book for three years. The offer was revealed by writer and comedian Daniel Kibblesmith on a Bluesky post on November 16 with a one-word caption: "Abominable."
As BGR pointed out, it is encouraging to see HarperCollins giving the authors a way to opt out of the deal, because it could have strong-armed the writers into taking the deal. However, we wouldn't be surprised if many declined the offer, especially given how much they were paying for the licensing.