Amazon removes AI biographies of SNP politicians
The Times reported that a book about Swinney - called John Swinney Biography: John Swinney: Scotland's Education Architect - falsely claimed the first minister was born in the US to a Polish mother.
Four of the books were removed from sale on Monday afternoon after the BBC approached Amazon about them. Ranging from 36 to 85 pages, they contained grammatical errors and bizarre sentence formulations. One claimed to be an "exposé" of the police investigation into SNP finances.According to the Amazon description, it was written by "renowned author" Brian B. Porter, who was said to have told the story of Sturgeon and the SNP with "expert storytelling and meticulous research". It was the only book of the four to have been reviewed. It had an average rating of 1.3 out of five stars, with disappointed readers describing it as "terrible" and lacking "any detail or substance". Brian B. Porter is named as the author on several other seemingly AI-generated books listed on Amazon - including titles on former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, American composer Burt Bacharach and Canadian ice-hockey player Bobby Hull. The books about Yousaf, who was privately educated, repeatedly suggested he had grown up in poverty.
An Amazon spokesperson said: "We have content guidelines governing which books can be listed for sale, and we have proactive and reactive methods that help us detect content that violates our guidelines, whether AI-generated or not."We invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed, and remove books that do not adhere to those guidelines."Both the Scottish and UK governments have spoken of the positive impact AI technology could have on efforts to improve public services - such as the NHS. However, writers and publishers have expressed fears about the impact of generative AI programs, such as ChatGPT, on the creation of new literature and books.And with Scottish Parliament elections looming in May 2026, there have also been warnings about AI fuelling disinformation potentially being used to disrupt elections.
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