Recently, the Authors Guild expanded its human certification program for books to non-members (and the UK’s Society of Authors has partnered up on it as well). The Authors Guild certification does permit a small amount of AI-generated text, mainly to allow for AI-powered grammar and spell-check applications. That means the Authors Guild is not analyzing the manuscript for evidence of AI use but taking the author’s word for it. Her initial response really pushed me to reflect, though, on the deeper concerns I have with any human certification program. Will libraries have to go through their shelves and retrospectively mark all books…?”I voiced all of these concerns to the Authors Guild last week.

Source: Wall Street Journal March 16, 2026 15:03 UTC