Canadian publishers turn to contracts and trust as AI detectors falter

Canadian publishers are relying on author disclosures, contractual assurances and editorial relationships to address AI-generated text because they do not regard detection software as dependable. The approach places the burden on writers to explain how a manuscript was made, while publishers try to distinguish limited assistive uses from systems that generate substantive creative work. Coach House Books asks writers to disclose AI-generated material. Its contracts also require authors to affirm that their books contain no AI-generated material. Alana Wilcox, the press’s editorial director, said there was no reliable way to police the requirement and that increasingly sophisticated AI would make identifying its use harder, not easier. ECW Press has added AI-use language to the warranty clause in its author contracts. The provision requires writers to guarantee facts about their manuscript, including that the work is original and wholly owned by the author. David Caron said the publisher ultimately had to rely on authors to explain what they had done and what was in the submitted work. The Association of Canadian Publishers has framed the issue around human authorship. Lisa Quinn said artistic and intellectual creation were human-centred activities, while drawing a distinction between assistive AI, such as help comprehending a translated sentence, and generative AI producing a translation of a complex work. She described detection systems as predictive models that offer likelihoods rather than conclusive answers, and said the technology’s evolution was outpacing publishers’ policy-making and leaving regulatory questions unresolved. The concern is reinforced by a test published by the Authors Guild, which found sharply inconsistent results when five AI detectors examined 10 articles written before generative AI was widely available. Pangram identified no AI use in any of the articles, while Sidekicker.ai judged every one predominantly AI-written, with scores from 71% to 100%. The guild warned that false positives can damage authors’ reputations and contracts, and advised publishers against cancelling a contract or withdrawing a book solely on an accusation or detector result. The issue gained fresh prominence after Les Éditions du Boréal ended its relationship with Thélyson Orélien, whose debut novel “C’était ça ou mourir” had prompted social-media allegations in September. The publisher said metadata analysis showed evidence of AI use. Orélien denied using AI to write the novel, although he said he had used it for research. The book had won the Prix du Roman Fnac and was later removed from Prix Goncourt contention. The broader Canadian policy debate has similarly centred human authorship while allowing room for creative tools. A federal consultation on copyright and generative AI, held from Oct. 12, 2023, to Jan. 15, 2024, found general support for keeping human authorship central to copyright protection and for allowing authors flexibility in using AI. Library and Archives Canada has also revised its ISBN policy to limit registrations for works primarily generated by AI, while permitting limited uses such as brainstorming, grammar checking and formatting. ISBN registration itself does not confer copyright protection.