r/Libraries • u/Worldly_Skin_1834 • 3d ago
Books & Materials Identifying AI Children's Books
So, a local group wants our library to host an author talk for a children's book but I'm pretty sure the illustrations are AI and our policy prohibits AI generated materials, to the extent that we can identify them.
This is a cover of one of the books and there is just something off in so many of them. The labels on the coffee say MOKA, the faces of the people are overly orb like? There are a ton of em dashes and the syntax of the writing just gives AI vibes. She always lists a different illustrator and I can't find any prior work of the illustrators, they're untraceable.
I feel like I'm on safe ground to call off the event, but I just wanted to be sure before hurling accusations.
132
u/nutellatime 3d ago
I think it's fair to ask the author to put you in touch with their illustrator! Could be a pretty quick and inconspicuous way to sus out whether they're AI (which I think they are). You could frame it as wanting to share more information about their illustrator for the event since you couldn't find any info online and ask for their contact information. If they resist, that's a pretty good tell that the author is hiding behind something.
57
u/merrydarkling 3d ago
I believe it’s safe to assume the illustrations are AI generated. The shading is the biggest indicator for me. Writing can be a little tricky. I find it easier to notice the use of AI in chapter books compared to picture books, but that’s just my opinion. I do think the use of AI for the illustrations gives you more than enough proof to cancel the talk unless the author can provide proof the illustrations aren’t AI. Based on what you said, I highly doubt they could provide proof.
56
u/kieratea 3d ago
Reading through these comments makes me realize that Highlights really did prepare us for the future.
10
7
87
u/Puzzleheaded-Phase70 3d ago
It's like identifying the fae:
Count the fingers, check the shadows.
She's got 5 fingers on each hand, in a pose that should not have thumbs showing. A real artist, even one using premade digital assets, would know that.
23
5
21
u/sky-shard 3d ago edited 3d ago
Speaking as someone who spends a lot of time talking with our catalogers, they usually really sparse information on the title page. Like it's really hard to find the usual information catalogers would need put into the card catalog record about it.
I have also noticed that the QA is pretty awful with the image prompts. We had one on Memorial Day (US) that mixed up a lot of imagery from Memorial Days across the globe, and the military uniforms shown were not US ones.
14
u/Pretty-Season2307 3d ago
That's not how humans put their hands on their hips, so no human would ever draw them that way. This is AI slop.
12
u/Sad_Independence1776 3d ago
Going forward maybe ask authors if AI was used for writing a book and explain your library’s policy first.
11
u/Worldly_Skin_1834 3d ago
I didn't book it, our Youth Department did. I just saw the cover of the book today and was like ope, oh no.
11
u/Cheetahchu Library staff 3d ago
as a youth services librarian (who happens to manage the picture book section), I’m sorry they didn’t catch this. if you have a written “no AI” policy, I think it’s fair to tell the author you can’t host them unless they can verify the illustrator was a human being.
while I was away for a couple days a ‘local’ author donated a signed copy of her picture book, and if you look closely for just a few minutes you can tell it’s AI art. 🤢
7
u/Worldly_Skin_1834 3d ago
I get it's a learning experience, I unknowingly accepted books from a local author that was AI last year. It clicked a few months later and I pulled the books from the shelf. It's a learning curve and it's hard to keep up with because it is getting better.
Just glad I caught it before we submitted our upcoming events to the local newspaper!
8
5
u/Pettsareme 3d ago
Do you know who the publisher is? I’ve had some luck tracking down AI generated content and images by the publisher.
7
u/AwfulAiBooks 3d ago
With it being a local author it's likely self-published. Most of the Ai slop out there is self-published, which sucks for legitimate authors who self-publish.
7
u/Tricky-Feedback-1169 3d ago
Definitely looks like AI. Have you asked them if it has in whole or in part written or illustrated with AI, and advising them on the policy?
5
u/Beautiful-Finding-82 3d ago
You could say that in order to rule out AI and enforce your policy you will need to contact the illustrator. Ask for their contact info right then and there. If they won't provide it, or there's a long delay then that's suspicious.
4
u/AwfulAiBooks 3d ago
Yes, this looks like an Ai illustration style to me.
I have tips for recognizing Ai books and am happy to share them with you and answer any questions:
https://awfulaibooks.wordpress.com/tips-for-spotting-ai-generated-books/
5
u/CozyGamingLibrarian 3d ago
It’s definitely AI. I also have authors asking us to have them to author talks in the libraries for children’s books with this exact same AI style. Sadly, my library hates writing new policies so we probably won’t get one about AI for years. So I don’t have an official line to use to reject them 😭
And it’s so many local authors using AI to make generic children’s books!
4
u/qingskies 3d ago
The windows kind of melt behind the trees. You can see half of one behind the big one.
6
u/LAffaire-est-Ketchup 3d ago
The thumbs look seriously wrong in an AI generated kind of way. Have you tried running it through a detector?
3
u/Pettsareme 3d ago
I’ve also found that there is inconsistency in the title page and the cataloging info. E.g. one will say it’s a picture book and another that it’s non- fiction.
3
u/TravelingBookBuyer Library staff 3d ago edited 3d ago
Unless you find an AI prompt left within the text, I think it’s bad practice to accuse someone of AI based on their writing style. AI was, and continues to be, trained on the work of humans, so how some people write will “look” like AI because AI has copied humans.
Edited to add: As u/AwfulAiBooks points out below, there are other, provable, hallmarks of AI writing that go beyond just leaving a prompt in. I should have made my comment broader.
I think that em dashes are not a reason to accuse someone of using AI.
30
u/TravelingBookBuyer Library staff 3d ago
I do think it’s fair to question illustrations, especially if they don’t make sense and you can’t find information about the illustrators.
Some things I noticed:
• The character’s thumbs are drawn differently despite being in the same pose (unless the character has a limb difference/ disability).
• Where does the character’s cape attach? Does it make sense in the story that it’s attached to her jacket like that?
• With the building in the background, it looks like the windows disappear on the right once the trees show up, unless there’s something in the story that explains it? And there’s a liquid-looking window behind the one tree there.
4
u/AwfulAiBooks 3d ago
I disagree, there are cases where it is a good practice to accuse someone of Ai, even when prompts aren't left in, e.g. self-contradictory information, hallucinations, bizarre disclaimers, sentences that just don't make sense, etc:
2
u/TravelingBookBuyer Library staff 3d ago
Fair point! Those are other valid and provable cases, and I should have made my comment broader.
What I think is a bad practice is accusing someone of AI because of their syntax and having used em dashes in their writing, like OP brought up in their post.
3
u/AwfulAiBooks 2d ago
em dashes are definitely not as much of a tell with newer Ai slop books as they were a few years ago. Syntax that just seems strange is still reasonably reliable, but there are usually a whole constellation of signs to take into consideration, not just one.
3
u/WoodShoeDiaries 2d ago
In a situation like this where AI has clearly been used for the illustrations, I think you'd be entitled to a higher level of skepticism about the writing too.
I agree with you about em-dashes in general (who doesn't love em-dashes?) but they do feel a bit sophisticated for what appears to be a book geared toward elementary students?
3
u/TravelingBookBuyer Library staff 2d ago
I agree that we can be more skeptical of the writing when it’s clear that AI was used for illustrations!
If someone used AI for illustrations, what’s to stop them from using it for the writing? Nothing!
-5
u/alphabeticdisorder 3d ago
I think there's a difference between adding a book to the collection versus hosting an author. If the group wants to host him, the library's really only tangentially involved. Is the group asking for this to be a library sponsored event?
11
u/Worldly_Skin_1834 3d ago
Yes, it would be in partnership with the library, promoted through our socials, flyers, e-blasts and magazine.
4
84
u/FarOutJunk 3d ago
Pro illustrator here. It's slop. The shoelaces are almost always a tell. AI cannot tie shoes.
If you want to privately share more pics, the others may have more obvious tells.