Barnes & Noble CEO Slammed For Stance On Selling AI-Generated Books

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Barnes & Noble CEO Slammed For Stance On Selling AI-Generated Books

Published: Tuesday, May 26th, 2026 @ 10:37 am
By: Daily Wire ( More Entries )

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Amanda Harding.

    The CEO of Barnes & Noble just clarified where he stands on AI-written books, and commenters are accusing him of choosing profit over integrity.

    Bookstore exec James Daunt told Jenna Bush Hager during a recent "Today" show appearance that as long as the "author" discloses that the book is AI-generated, he has no problem stocking it.

    "I have actually no problem selling any book, as long as it doesn't masquerade or pretend to be something that it isn't, and that it has an essential quality to it, and that the customer, the reader, wants it," Daunt said during the interview.

    "So as long as an AI-written book says it's an AI-written book and doesn't pretend to be something else and isn't ripping off somebody else, as long as that's clearly stated and the customer wants to buy it, then we will stock them," he added.

    The CEO also argued that some books currently being sold probably use AI anyway.

    "We have 300,000 titles across all of our stores. Do we think that some of those may be AI? The chances are that they are, but we're not really conscious of them," Daunt added.

    Daunt also downplayed the issue, saying it's not a big deal for now. "At the moment, it seems unlikely to us that these AI-generated books are going to get much commercial traction. So I think it's something that one should treat with common sense and acceptance, but not allow anything to masquerade," he told Bush Hager.

    Commenters on social media did not agree.

    "I will stop shopping at Barnes and Noble and I hope everyone else does too. AI is NOT the future," one X commenter argued.

    "Sorry, but ethics has a place in business, and selling works generated off the THEFT of other people's work is UNETHICAL. For shame!" another person agreed.

    "The point of a bookstore is discovering human thought. Real stories. Real suffering. Real imagination. Replacing authors with machines because it's cheaper is how civilizations become hollow," a third commenter said.

    "The slop knows no bounds," echoed another.

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Comments

John Valley said:

( May 30th, 2026 @ 4:57 pm )

AI has no place in the Arts, it has no soul and removes the human element from the equation. Imperfections and "mistakes" make music/art special. I can't tell you how many legendary riffs have come from f-ups and producers deciding to "keep it on the tape".

I agree that AI, with strict oversight, can be used for the purposes of good BUT if unregulated, you'll see why and how places like Atlantis fell from grace.

B&N hasn't been worth a crap for almost 20 years. They are a footnote of American Culture now. We used to meet girls there, get our music magazines and graphic novels.....but those times have long since passed.

Stan Deatherage said:

( May 26th, 2026 @ 3:58 pm )

Washingtonian: Yeah, but humans still need some foothold in the real world, and that is human inspired art.

Washingtonian said:

( May 26th, 2026 @ 11:35 am )

Well Stan, IMHO there is Art and then there is entertainment.
I think A.I can entertain as well as any human.
Perhaps, going forward we can define Art as something created by humans, otherwise, its entertainment.

Stan Deatherage said:

( May 26th, 2026 @ 11:09 am )

I am begrudgingly in favor of AI because of the necessity of a number of very important problems that have long needed to be solved.

AI influenced literature, movies and music are NOT part of those necessities that will enhance and sustain humanity in these complex times.

The human touch is critical in all art; machines do NOT create art!

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