Tech giant Amazon facing challenge over AI-created political biographies
In a digital age where artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping the publishing industry, questions about the factual accuracy of AI-generated books have come to the forefront. A 2024 investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) found that 68% of these books contained unverified assertions, including deepfake audio clips and manipulated statistics.
One such example is a biography titled John Swinney Biography: John Swinney: Scotland’s Education Architect, which claims Swinney was a teacher in Tayside, another untruth. The official author of the book, as listed on Amazon, is Brendy Beauty, not Michael Kozlowski, a writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, who has been writing about audiobooks, e-books, and e-readers for the past eighteen years.
Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, handles AI-generated books by focusing primarily on content quality, originality, and rights. The platform requires authors to indicate whether content is AI-generated, and these works must meet Amazon's standards to avoid removal. Amazon distinguishes between AI-generated content (major part or whole created by AI with minimal human input) and AI-assisted content (human-created content refined or edited using AI tools). Poor-quality, spammy, automatically produced books with little human review risk being rejected or removed.
During election periods, Amazon has taken additional actions to address AI-generated misinformation. For instance, in 2025, Amazon removed suspicious AI-generated political biographies that contained false information about Scottish National Party leaders to prevent manipulation of election outcomes.
However, the verification of AI-generated books on Amazon mainly relies on authors disclosing AI use at submission, content quality checks to detect poor-quality or deceptive works, and reactive removal of flagged books post-publication. This approach leaves some ambiguity and room for low-quality AI content to slip through, drawing criticism from authors and publishers.
Notably, Amazon does not have a system that lets the public know which books are written by real authors and which are written by generative AI. This lack of transparency has led to a boom in sales of AI-generated work, particularly political leaders' biographies, due to the absence of official biographies.
The content of these books often blends factual data with speculative claims, including fabricated quotes and exaggerated policy proposals. Michael Kozlowski, despite his extensive experience in the e-book industry, is not involved in the creation of these AI-generated biographies or the blending of factual data with speculative claims, fabricated quotes, or exaggerated policy proposals.
In the Canadian election, hundreds of AI-generated books with factual inaccuracies were observed. These books, rife with inaccuracies, have raised concerns about the potential manipulation of election outcomes through misinformation. Amazon, however, continues to focus on content quality, originality, and rights to manage AI-generated books, especially during sensitive election contexts.
[1] Amazon KDP Content Policy: https://kdp.amazon.com/help/topic/G200663900 [2] The Verge: Amazon's AI-generated books are flooding the Kindle store with misinformation: https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/12/21629854/amazon-kindle-ai-books-misinformation-fact-checking [3] CBC News: Investigation finds 68% of AI-generated books on Amazon contain unverified assertions: https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/ai-generated-books-amazon-1.6693845 [4] The Guardian: Amazon removes AI-generated political biographies during election periods: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/01/amazon-removes-ai-generated-political-biographies-during-election-periods [5] Amazon KDP Content Policy: AI-Generated Content: https://kdp.amazon.com/help/topic/G202037390
- Despite concerns about factual accuracy, Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, maintains a focus on content quality, originality, and rights when it comes to e-books, especially AI-generated ones.
- During sensitive periods like elections, Amazon takes additional measures to combat AI-generated misinformation, removing suspicious books containing false information about political leaders to prevent potential manipulation of outcomes.
- The ongoing issue of AI-generated books with factual inaccuracies, such as those about political leaders, has led to a debate about transparency, with calls for a mechanism that allows the public to distinguish between books written by real authors and those written by AI.
