S5E18 Books, Bots, And The Battle For Credit: Julie Trelstad

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A quiet revolution is underway in publishing, and it’s not just about formats. We dive into how AI is reshaping discovery, licensing, and authorship with Julie Trelstad of Amlet, a rights registry built to make books machine-recognisable—so creators can be identified, consent can be captured, and royalties can actually flow. From the surge of AI-generated lookalikes to landmark lawsuits over scraped libraries, we trace how the industry arrived at this moment and what a fair, practical path forward looks like.

Julie breaks down the crucial difference between input and output licensing, why ISBNs and legacy metadata fail modern systems, and how the ISCC standard enables a robust digital fingerprint for each work—down to paragraphs and images. We talk candidly about fear in the creative community, the flood of bland AI prose, and the very human qualities that machines tend to erase: voice, quirk, and risk. Along the way, we share hands-on advice for authors using AI: practise discernment, slow the process, maintain a single brief, and edit with intent. Treat the model like an eager intern—helpful, fast, but never the author.

Looking ahead, we imagine AI-native discovery where books, audiobooks, and summaries live inside conversational interfaces—and attribution becomes a visible badge of trust. With transparent licensing and machine-readable rights, micro-royalties for model usage become possible, piracy loses its edge, and independent creators gain leverage. If ebooks taught us to distribute better, AI is our chance to account better and to value the people behind the pages.

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