You can understand why, according to a new study by Cambridge University, more than half of published novelists in the UK agree that it\u2019s likely AI will displace their work entirely<\/a>. This isn\u2019t anything new: for months if not years, novelists have expressed their growing unease about the speed and scale of AI\u2019s trespass into the literary world<\/a>. Plug in a prompt for any author with a back catalogue and you\u2019ll get a sort-of satisfactory imitation of their writing: Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, Sarah Maas, Haruki Murakami, etc, etc. Not only does this happen in a matter of seconds, but it\u2019s completely free. A whole book, 10 books, 100 books, 1,000 books for a grand total of \u00a30. <\/p>\n Obviously, there are myriad problems with this \u2013 not least the financial repercussions on authors and the theft of their intellectual property \u2013 but one particularly troubling question was raised by Dr Clementine Collett, the lead researcher and author of the Cambridge report and a novelist herself: Could the prevalence of AI<\/a>-generated novels create a two-tier system in the literary world? \u201cThat is a real concern from literary creatives,\u201d she said on Thursday\u2019s episode of Radio 4\u2019s Today programme. \u201cWhere human-written work will be a more expensive luxury item, and AI-generated content will be cheap or free.\u201d <\/p>\n Admittedly, the idea that everyone but the rich will be doomed to a black hole library full of fake books, bereft of human thought, feeling and heart feels a little far-fetched. But so too have many things that have come to fruition in recent months: the prevalence of AI relationships, the AI-facilitated mediums for grief counselling. Concepts that once seemed so Black Mirror are on the fast track to becoming run of the mill. <\/p>\n Consider the fact that already a lot of people are more than happy to read AI-generated material, particularly when it comes to non-fiction. It makes sense in a way; non-fiction by definition is matter-of-fact, and what\u2019s more matter-of-fact than a cold-hearted summation by a robot (notwithstanding the factual errors its answers can be littered with)? But such a distinction forgets that the best non-fiction writers collate those facts as movingly, excitingly and carefully as any of their fiction counterparts. <\/p>\n There are worries too that genre fiction \u2013 particularly of the romance and crime variety \u2013 are most at risk because of their structure, which is typically more formulaic and so easier for AI to replicate. An assumption, says Dr Collett, that neglects to acknowledge the genre writers who are amazing at bringing in elements of surprise and novelty. But the truth is that the demand for these types of novels is huge \u2013 too huge, arguably, for even the most prolific authors to meet at the pace readers want it. More, more, more and faster, faster, faster, seems to be the mandate for consumption today. If an author can\u2019t deliver, AI is there with 400 pages at the ready. There is no doubt in my mind that had AI been around years ago, I would have asked it for another entry in the Twilight series after tearfully concluding the final chapter in the franchise, so desperate was I for another taste of teen vampire romance. <\/p>\n It\u2019s frightening, really, how quickly we have grown to (albeit reluctantly) accept AI in art, a place previously thought to be a stronghold against its encroachment on other areas of life. Yes, there was rightful outrage in 2023 when it was revealed that Marvel had used AI for the opening credits of its Disney+ series Secret Invasion<\/a> \u2013 but only two years later, that furore is quietening. When Netflix confirmed it had used generative AI footage in one of its TV shows for the first time<\/a>, using it to depict the collapse of a building in sci-fi series The Eternaut, there were grumblings but far fewer headlines. (Admittedly, there was widespread anger over this year\u2019s unveiling of AI actor Tilly Norwood<\/a>, but that feels like another level of extreme.) <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The response to AI actor Tilly Norwood was rightfully furious, but elsewhere we\u2019re welcoming AI into creative life (Particle 6\/Xicoia)<\/p>\n A two-tier market in the literary world is a terrifying concept. Arguably, a divide already exists: reading is a privilege afforded by those with time, and books can be little luxuries, with one in five children in England not owning a book of their own, according to a 2022 survey. And so to widen that divide even more is a dangerous thing. <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-09-30-at-08-39-21.png\")
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