AI Sparks Big Debate After Software Scrapes Over 700k Light Novels

Syosetu marks one of Japan's most popular sites for light novel readers.

By Megan Peters

There is no denying that artificial intelligence is in its early years. The growing tech has been around for decades in some form or another, but now AI is becoming an everyday tool. While some industries are embracing the tech, others like those in the arts are pushing back. And over in Japan, a major debate has sparked online after an AI developer scrapped more than 700,000 light novels to fuel its own program.

The revelation went live on social media as users like narou_fun_db noticed the scrape. It turns out developers of the tool RyokoAI turned to one of Japan's most popular light novel websites for content. The crew scraped 711,700 works from Syosetu, also known as Shosetsuka ni Narou, in order to make generative text models. If that all sounds gibberish to you, essentially, the tech developers copied the content of over 700,000 works into RyokoAI, and the content will help the produce AI-generated stories when prompted.

According to Internet sleuths, the RyokoAI scraping targeted the majority of light novels on Syosetu. The info, which was collected between March 26-27, was gathered so RyokoAI could generate popular stories for readers. But since this information has surfaced, well – Japanese netizens and light novel lovers are pushing back.

Not only is content scraping against the T&C of Syosetu, but the practice has become quite vilified in the arts community. From copyright concerns to intellectual property spats, AI poses a threat like none other to creators regardless of their specialty. Now in Japan, this debate is raging online given how popular Syosetu is with manga and light novel readers. 

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This latest AI debacle has proven how vulnerable artists are to artificial intelligence, and in Japan, new legislative avenues have  opened to combat poaching. Ken Akamatsu, the creator of Love Hina, now works as a local politician and recently stressed their interest in providing creators with AI protections. After all, it isn't just light novel creators in the crossfire. Everyone from artists to writers and even voice actors are on the chopping block so far as AI is concerned. 

What do you think about this latest AI controversy? Let us know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

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