Retiree Billy Jones has turned publishing AI-generated books into a source of income worth several thousand dollars, The New York Times reports.
The 70-year-old former IT professional said he learned to use ChatGPT after retiring and began publishing generated texts through Amazon. He releases 10 new books every week—the maximum the platform permits.
Readers buy hundreds of copies each month. Jones earns about $7 in net profit from every sale, though he describes the income as little more than pocket money for trips to bars.
New York Times journalist Kashmir Hill became aware of this industry after unexpectedly discovering a $27 biography of herself on Amazon. Titled The Biography of Kashmir Hill, the book combined publicly available information with details invented by an AI model.
The journalist was unable to contact the biography’s author. Jones, who follows the same model, did agree to speak with her.