Cambridge University Press & Assessment writes to 20k authors for AI licensing 'opt-in'

Cambridge University Press & Assessment (CUPA) is contacting 20,000 authors to request their permission before licensing their content for the training and development of large language models (LLMs).

The academic publisher has adopted an "opt-in" policy for licensing authors’ content to generative AI companies, giving all authors the opportunity to understand how their work will be used before giving their consent. 

Managing director Mandy Hill said this was a "huge extra investment" for CUPA and has made the process "harder", but that the "author relationship is too important". 

Hill said the response they had received had been positive, as many authors "see the potential for AI to help disseminate their work", with only a small minority declining to license their content. Hill emphasised the importance of keeping authors informed and giving them agency, making licensing feel like a "positive decision for them to be involved in, rather than feel it’s something that’s been done to them".

Speaking to The Bookseller at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, Hill said: "I fundamentally think it’s a good thing for us to license our content into responsible LLMs, because I do want high-quality information informing the development and training of those LLMs [...] We made the decision that we wanted to ask authors, not because we think they shouldn’t want their content to be going in there, but we want to be able to tell them why this is a good thing, and for the authors to see that this is a good thing."

While some other academic publishers have already confirmed partnerships with AI companies or are considering licensing their authors’ content, Hill said that it would take CUPA "longer to sign deals" due to its opt-in approach. "It’s a huge extra investment that we’ve chosen to make, so I understand why others haven’t made that choice," she said. 

The m.d added: "I hope that in the months to come, when people see the way LLMs change and start to give attribution to authors, that’s when the benefits will start to be felt."

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