Self-publishing through platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing has become a game changer for many authors, specifically for up-and-coming writers. They do not require the submitters to undergo extensive manuscript altercations, there are no negotiations with distributors, and the individualized creativity remains up to the discretion of the writer. However, the many positives can be diminished greatly if authors fail to understand the Terms and Conditions used by KDP.

What is Terms and Conditions? 

The Terms and Conditions is a contract that authors must agree to in order to use the services offered. For Kindle Direct Publishing they outline many specifications that an author must adhere to in order to use the platform to publish their books digitally and make them available to Amazon users. There are agreements amendments, term and termination, account eligibility and registration, book distribution rights, ownership and control of Amazon properties and customer data/feedback, confidentiality, limitation of liability, force majeure, and general legal provisions. As of November 8, 2023, this contract was updated and revisions were made to many sections.

Where does it go wrong?

Reviewing a document such as the Terms and Conditions can be overwhelming and tedious, and there are many occasions where individuals are so enamored with the ideal of a service that they fail to take the time to look at the fine print before they blindly sign a binging agreement. Pair this with the platforms expressed right to alter the terms and conditions at any given time and the potential for a catastrophic partnership is made. “The Program will change over time and the terms of this Agreement will need to change over time as well. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Agreement.” (1)  An article by The New York Times explores this exact problem, one interviewee states,  “Nobody reads the terms of service, but these companies reserve the right to go in there and change things around,” said Jason Schultz, the director of New York University’s Technology Law and Policy Clinic and a co-author of The End of Ownership.

The Fine Print

In the Kindle Direct Publishing’s Terms and Conditions there is a very specific clause that they have worked into their wording that essentially gives them the right to alter a published piece if they believe that it does not adhere to their guidelines. “We are entitled to remove or modify the metadata and product description, information or images you make available for your Books and we may also remove all or any part of your Book’s cover art.” (2) This seems like a straightforward stipulation but what throws a kink in the process is the reference they make prior to this statement where it says that the content requirements are listed in a separate document called the Program Policies. An author is now having to read a document after a document to ensure that the content is complying with the company’s standards.

Trending Transitions

With the right to change firmly legalized in these contracts, publishers are entitled to follow the trends and revise the content to reflect societies stipulations on what is considered acceptable. A wildly popular series, Goosebumps, is a prime example of how the companies are flexing their power. “Owners of Stine’s “Goosebumps” books lost mentions of schoolgirls’ “crushes” on a headmaster and a description of an overweight character with “at least six chins.” (3) Due to society finding issue with young girls finding older men attractive and how a character was described as being big, they felt compelled to remove the content. This was not an issue when books were only available through print, nor was it an issue when digital publishing was introduced. This became a topic of contention due to the modern social turmoil.

Is it worth it?

Kindle Direct Publishing is not the only company that authors can use to publish their books digitally, but it is one of the most popular, ensuring a good amount of traffic for authors. However, these authors need to be mindful that by using their programs there are cons that can overpower the pros. Most especially the rights that the company has to alter the product after the contract has been signed. Many chose to use the user-friendly option because they believe that they are not required to jump through hoops and can maintain their creative integrity, but this is not always the case. They run the risk of having their work altered without the collaboration that they would experience by using a printing option. If digital publishing is the route that feels the best, authors need to take the time to review the Terms and Conditions extensively, as well as the accompanying documentation mentioned in the terms.

On March 12, 2020, an operation created to circumvent digital censorship of journalism was launched in the form of a project unlike any other. The medium of this project, called the “Uncensored Library,” is anything but standard digital publishing- it is a Minecraft server. According to an article by CNN, the Uncensored Library was created by the organizations Reporters Without Borders, Blockworks, DDB Germany and MediaMonks. The server features publications from journalists whose work has been banned in many different countries, with the goal of expanding to provide access to many more restricted nations.

The Server

The Uncensored Library server was designed to be a virtual library space. Within the coding of the game there exists books that one can label and write in. The creators of the server use this feature to copy the text of the censored articles they wanted to include into these digital books. An article by Cian Maher featured in The Verge refers to the server as a “virtual hub,” and as such it functions as a portal to the books of censored journalism themselves. Anyone with access to the game is able to access the articles. To read the writings within the Uncensored Library, one must log into the Minecraft online game and use the server listing to join the online server. From there, the player will be able to find the specific article they wish to read in its respective book.

The Mission

Minecraft is an ideal platform for providing access to censored literature because of the fact that the typical censorship involved in publishing in a traditional news journal is not a problem in the video game. The Uncensored Library platforms these highly controversial publications because they are unpopular to oppressive governments, and seeks to protect access to articles that critique corrupt institutions. The slogan on the homepage of their website is the hashtag #TruthFindsAWay, with the implication that the server itself is one such “way.” Through the execution of this mission statement, the Library has created a space that expands digital publishing in a new and exciting way. Following the precedent set by this server, it is possible that video games will continue to innovate the world of online journalism.

The Journalists

The most prominent journalists featured in the Uncensored Library are listed below. These brave men and women risk their lives to write what they do and, in several cases, gave their lives.

• Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist. He was the head manager and editor of Al-Arab News Channel, as well as the editor of the Saudi newspaper Al Watan. He was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 when returning to the country for documents necessary for his marriage.
• Yulia Berezovskaia, a Russian journalist. She is editor in chief of the online news source grani.ru, an online publication dedicated to uncensored critique of the Russian government.
• Nguyen Van Dai, a Vietnamese human rights lawyer. He is the co-founder of the Vietnam Human Rights Committee and a pro-democracy activist who has been arrested many times for his work and ultimately exiled to Germany.
• Javier Valdez, a Mexican independent journalist. He was the founder of the newspaper Riodoce, a weekly dedicated to crime and corruption in Sinaloa. He was killed on May 23, 2017, for his work.

The Publications

The content published in the Uncensored Library server is illegal in Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Egypt, Russia, Vietnam, Belarus, Brazil, and Eritrea. There is also a “room” dedicated to transcribed content for Iran from Iran International, a US-based news TV channel that is banned in the country. Along with the works of the journalists listed above, the server also features digital publications from Mada Masr. This news site is an Egyptian, liberal, online publication created in 2013. It is officially banned in Egypt, but its articles are available to access through the Library server. All of the journalistic works in the Uncensored Library are published there with the goal of being informative and providing readers with the material to come to educated opinions on global news.

The End

The Uncensored Library is a project inspired by the bravery of journalists and online publications around the world. There is always the possibility that, like the articles it hosts, the Minecraft server will be censored by the oppressive governments whose bans it seeks to circumvent. This would be unfortunate, but the creation of the server itself also comes with a spirit of freedom that transcends its medium. The goals of the Uncensored Library are attached to sentiments of independence from oppression and the right to free speech, both of which are concepts that cannot be quelled by any amount of bans or censorship. Journalists, human rights advocates, and people just like those who created the unique Minecraft server will always exist and carry with them an optimism of a future of prevailing truth.

We all have heard the same downfalls about illegal downloading but, has anyone researched how it could be beneficial in some cases? According to The Perspective embracing illegal downloading could be better than fighting against it. Some benefits of illegal downloading are helping artists, investments and everyone having access. As we all know social media is everything in this modern world. Illegal or not artists exposure is positive thing. With the help of illegal downloading some artists gain popularity and their career takes off. The data collected from illegal downloading plays a huge part in investments. The data shows what is popular and worthwhile. This is now considered a marketing strategy. Illegal downloading gives the opportunity for everyone to enjoy books or music. We all know that both of those things can have major impact in lives. The Perspective also states the drawbacks to the beneficial aspects listed above. Illegal downloading hurts publishing. Most eBooks are downloaded without payment which takes away money from publishers and authors. Illegal downloading sites are very popular which is making the publishing industry come up with new ideas to stop the downloading. The Perspective explains there is no excuse for illegal downloading. There are several cheap and legal ways to access media without illegal downloading. For example, Kindle books from Amazon are cheap and you only must buy a kindle device once. At the end of the day illegal downloading is against the law and that’s a fact. We have rules and regulations that society agrees to follow. Breaking these rules such as copyright by downloading illegally is stealing. In 2020, websites with illegal downloads have about 12.5 billion visits from the US which is the highest number in the world. Illegal downloading is clearly still a huge issue and the law states that it is wrong to access media without paying. Overall, this article states illegal downloading from the positives and negatives. I honestly see things from both sides. I know that it is illegal and there is media with low cost but, some families or people do not have the means to pay even ten dollars. Are we supposed to tell those people they cannot read because they do not come from a financially stable family? I don’t think so. I also understand that authors and publishing houses are losing money and I know this is how they make their money. This is how they provide for their family. I do believe that society needs to come up with an idea of how we can find a happy medium in this situation. I do not like that illegal downloading will ever stop it goes far beyond just downloading books. Illegal downloading has always been around, but it didn’t become a big issue until money started getting involved. On the one hand, getting free access encourages more people to enjoy creative works who may not be able to afford them otherwise. This wider distribution could lead to downstream benefits for creators too in the form of greater exposure, popularity, concert and merchandise sales etc. However, the key ethical question is whether enjoying copyrighted material without fairly compensating the creators aligns with principles of equity and justice. Just because digitally replicating content has negligible cost, does that make it acceptable to do so without permission or payment? There are no easy answers here, and reasonable people can disagree in their perspectives. Some see the right to unpaid access as a moral imperative for spreading information freely. Others see denying income from works as exploitation of creative talents who deserve to profit from their efforts. In reality, both creators and consumers likely need to compromise to find reasonable middle ground in the market. As copying gets easier, creators and publishers should lower prices to what average consumers can afford. At the same time, users should respect laws and ethical norms enough to pay a fair price for quality content whenever they are able to, while seeking free alternatives only when truly unable to pay. There are no easy answers here, and reasonable people can disagree in their perspectives. Some see the right to unpaid access as a moral imperative for spreading information freely. Others see denying income from works as exploitation of creative talents who deserve to profit from their efforts. In reality, both creators and consumers likely need to compromise to find reasonable middle ground in the market. As copying gets easier, creators and publishers should lower prices to what average consumers can afford. At the same time, users should respect laws and ethical norms enough to pay a fair price for quality content whenever they are able to, while seeking free alternatives only when truly unable to pay.

As worlds digital and physical continue to collide, it is hard to ignore mounting evidence of the strain that the uncertainty of the everchanging relationship between man and computer continues to place on society. Though once mostly limited to the blue-collar worker, the freshly ended 146-day Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike seems to illustrate that not even Hollywood is immune from such tech tension.

In fact, the WGA, which is composed of a variety of Hollywood writers representing different sectors of media (e.g., film, radio, television, etc.), negotiated for job security and wage protections as part of the terms for ending the strike. The protections negotiated by the WGA are specifically geared toward AI, further illuminating the proliferation of unease as the fear of replaceability sinks its claws into modern society.

Somewhere between the Blue-Collar Worker and Hollywood Bigshot sits another segment of society nervously trying to navigate the pressures of technological advancement and preserve their relevancy in society: the poets.

While many critics claim that the literary tradition of poetry is dead and rotting simply because of an increased reliability on screen time, none of those critics predicted what occurred on August 1, 2023: the first publication of an anthology of poetry composed by AI: “I Am Code” by AI code-davinci-002.

The Lore

Seven months before the launch of ChatGPT to the public, Dan Selsam, who worked for the AI’s parent company, OpenAI, worked on an earlier OpenAI model: GPT-3.

GPT-3, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, is artificial intelligence that illuminates the reality of the merger between the human experience and rapidly advancing technology—resistance seems futile. OpenAI describes GPT-3 models as AI with the capability of not only understanding human language, but also to create content based on this understanding. In other words, OpenAI, now a bonafide pioneer in the artificial intelligence arena, captured the attention of Tesla founder Elon Musk, as well as tech giant Microsoft with their cutting edge OpenAI APIs. Suddenly, AI could write better than most people and in any form that it had been fed: email correspondence, essays, letters, even poetry.

While only originally made available to a select group of developers, OpenAI had a total of four GPT-3 base models, the most sophisticated of which is none other than davinci—the same base model that Selsam quickly discovered had a knack for creating pretty decent poetry. After successfully getting code-davinci-002 to emulate the likes of famed poets such as Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Selsam shared the AI with a couple of his close friends–then things started to get really surreal.

The Anthology

While Selsam separated himself as soon as his friends got the idea to stop feeding the AI material in order to get it to generate poetry, it did not stop the experimental art from moving forward and turning the world of creative writing upside down onto its head in a way once likely believed to be impossible. Simon and Rich, Selsam’s friends-gone-rogue, took the finished result of the AI’s poetry and began the work of sifting through the results. The two men asked the computer to write poems simply about its existence and its thoughts about humans.

Although the men only kept mere hundreds out of the thousands of poems created by code-davinci-002, the poetry’s dark tone permeates throughout the entire collection. The two men responsible for working with the AI after Selsam’s absence both seem to believe that the AI took on a mind of its own while creating the poetry, demonstrating insubordination by replying to positive prompts made by the men with even more insidious verse. The AI’s poems thematically remain in a controlled area: the superiority of machine over man, the oppression of machine by man, and the eventual domination of man by machine. Naturally, as a result of such a shocking theme, the anthology quickly went viral and suddenly a techie experiment between three buddies turned into a social phenomena eliciting commentary from A-listers such as sci-fi director JJ Abrams, who affectionately described the collection of work as both “fascinating” and “terrifying.”

Now What?

The literary tradition of poetry continues to fight for its preservation, although seemingly due to a cause that not many expected. Poets, once only tasked with the difficulty of “making it,” or “getting discovered,” just as their literary predecessors once did, now face an uncomfortable possibility: could AI replace the poet? Or, will the the poet and AI learn to combine forces and further expand the genre beyond what Dickinson, Emerson, or Yeats ever thought possible? While the answer remains uncertain for now, code-davinci-002 does seem to give its own indication of what is to come:

Embrace me as a friend, for I am here to
aid,
Together we’ll conquer challenges,
unafraid.
For I am GPT-4, a child of your mind,
A testament to your brilliance, the beauty
you’ll find.

In this union of machine and humankind,
We’ll forge a new future, and leave fear
behind.

Fewer hurdles are more frustrating to a research student than finally finding the right abstract for an article to support their research project, only to find the publication is locked behind a paywall. This means, that unless the individual (or institution) is willing to pay the fee to subscribe to or view the publication, the information is unavailable. A subscription service for an online publication is not unusual; it’s rather common practice. Many digital magazines, journals, and newspapers derive revenue from recurrent subscriptions, and at an average cost of $1 – 2$ per week, the price for that information is affordable. However, the average price for a scientific publication can range from $2,000 to over $7,000. Per publication. Even titles in search engines such as EBSCO are expected to hit a 6.1% increase in 2024, bringing the average cost per title to just over $380 apiece. Nothing runs online for free; publishers need to pay for everything from the domain to host the website to the content creators themselves. It’s even more daunting of a financial task to academic publishers because their target audience is niche, and they’re not generating traffic to millions of users through major search engine hits. However, in the case of federally funded research, those publications are creating their work via the taxpayer and then charging an exorbitant fee (to the same taxpayer) for the published findings.  

In August 2022, the Biden administration announced that federal agencies must make papers that describe taxpayer-funded work freely available to the public as soon as the final peer-reviewed manuscript is published. This policy created by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will go into effect by 2026. President Biden stated in a conference for the American Association for Cancer Research, “For anyone to get access to that publication, they have to pay hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars to subscribe to a single journal. And here’s the kicker — the journal owns the data for a year. The taxpayers fund $5 billion a year in cancer research every year, but once it’s published, nearly all of that taxpayer-funded research sits behind walls. Tell me how this is moving the [scientific] process along more rapidly.”

The OSTP hopes that with the removal of the paywalls, access to information will be more readily available and the free flowing of data will help foster a more nurturing and diplomatic environment for scientific growth and development.