Microsoft, TikTok and AI are disrupting book publishing, but do we want their effortless art?

Once-important roles in the publishing sector - editing, translation, narration and voice acting, book design will soon be increasingly performed by machines.

- Julian Novitz

Publishing is one of many fields poised for disruption by tech companies and artificial intelligence (AI). New platforms and approaches, like a book imprint by Microsoft and a self-publishing tech start-up that uses AI, promise to make publishing faster and more accessible than ever.

But they also may threaten jobs and demand a reconsideration of the status and role of books as cultural objects. And what will be the impact of TikTok owner ByteDance's move into traditional book publishing?

MICROSOFT'S 8080 BOOKS Last week, Microsoft announced a new book imprint, 8080 Books. It will focus on non-fiction titles relating to technology, science and business.

8080 Books plans "to test and experiment with the latest tech to accelerate and democratise book publishing", though as some sceptics have noted, it is not yet entirely clear what this will entail.

The first title, No Prize For Pessimism by Microsoft's deputy chief technology officer Sam Schillace, arguably sets the tone for the imprint. These "letters from a messy tech optimist" urge readers to embrace the disruptive potential of new technologies (AI is name-checked in the blurb), arguing optimism is essential for innovation and creativity. You can even discuss the book with its bespoke chatbot here.

Elsewhere, in the self-publishing space, tech start-up Spines aims to bring 8,000 new books to market each year. For a fee, authors can use the publishing platform's AI to edit, proofread, design, format and distribute their books.

The move has been condemned by some authors and publishers, but Spines (like Microsoft) states its aim is to make publishing more open and accessible. Above all, it aims to make it faster, reducing the time it takes to publish to just a fortnight - rather than the long months of editing, negotiating and waiting required by traditional publishing.