After King Charles disclosed his recent cancer diagnosis, Buckingham Palace warns it may resort to legal action against the publication of artificial intelligence (AI) generated books on Amazon, which falsely claim insider insight on the king’s health status. These publications not only inaccurately disclose details about his medical condition but also speculate on his treatments.
King Charles, who has temporarily stepped back from his public responsibilities while undergoing treatment, has revealed his diagnosis as a ‘type of cancer’ detected during a minor medical procedure. However, further information regarding his health condition is scanty, though it seems the cancer was detected early.
Following the disclosure, Amazon hosted several AI-authored books falsely purporting to provide inside information about King Charles’ health, including false allegations of surgery and chemotherapy side effects. These books, marketed alongside bona fide royal biographies, were lambasted for spreading misinformation about the King’s health.
Buckingham Palace denounced the false publications as ‘intrusive, insensitive, and riddled with errors.’ They also raised the alarm of potential legal examination into the matter, calling upon anyone involved in their distribution to instantly retract them.
Royal insiders and commentators have expressed dissatisfaction with Amazon for permitting the sale of inaccurate content, exacerbated by the widespread use of AI in generating books. Tools such as ChatGPT, based on GPT-3.5 Turbo technology, can create entire books within a short time without initial costs, leading to a surge in low-quality or factually incorrect work on Amazon Books. This has resulted in problematic situations like the time Amazon had to withdraw guides recommending the consumption of deadly fungi.
Although Amazon had introduced regulations in September 2023 that restricted authors to three self-published titles per day and enacted an AI usage disclosure rule, such voluntary rules have proved ineffective. Amazon’s recent challenges with false books about King Charles’ health underscore the difficulty in regulating AI-generated content.
