According to the authors, this could cause “irreparable damage to Singaporean literature”.

Sixty-eight Singaporean writers have signed a statement criticizing the National Library Board's (NLB) uncritical approach to the use of artificial general intelligence (AI), writes The Straits Times. According to the authors, this could cause “irreparable damage to Singaporean literature”. NLB's AI program launched in January 2024 and includes projects like StoryGen, a partnership with Amazon Web Services, to create immersive experiences.

The signatories, which include writers, translators, publishers and educators, have called on the NLB to move away from positioning AI as “a sufficient replacement for the development of traditional writing.” The statement emphasized the need to educate the public about the limitations of technology, as well as its negative impact on learning and the environment. Signatories include Cultural Medalist Haresh Sharma, Singapore Literary Award winners Prasanti Ram and Marilyn Tan, Booker International Prize-winning translator Jeremy Tiang and former Singapore Book Publishers Association president Peter Schoppert.

The letter notes that technologies like StoryGen normalize intellectual copyright infringement without adequately accounting for ethical issues. One example is NLB's Writing for Kids: Publishing Books with Gen-AI program for children ages 7-12, which the authors say promotes the idea that technology can replace Traditional writing skills. The statement also emphasized the environmental issue of using AI. For example, composing an email using ChatGPT consumes more than half a liter of water, which is contrary to NLB's sustainability initiatives.

The statement's authors are calling for consultations with representatives of the literary and librarianship communities, including NLB president Lee Seow Hiang, Nga executive director Cher Pong and chief librarian Jin Tan. The document acknowledges the potential of AI, but emphasizes that, as a national organization, NLB has a responsibility to educate the public on how to use the technology responsibly.

In 2024, NLB launched StoryGen and Chatbook, prototypes built with Amazon Web Services. For example, Chatbook allows users to “chat” with books through questions. The latest example is Irene Ng's biography The Singapore Lion about Singapore's first Minister of Foreign Affairs and Culture S. Rajaratnam. However, the writer is concerned that models like ChatGPT are trained on documents without permission from the copyright holder. Thus, in 2023, it became known that works by Singaporean authors such as Bally Kaur Jaswal, Ovidia Yu and Rachel Heng, as well as texts by Lee Kuan Yew, were in the Books3 database used for mining. Create language models.

NLB notes that the use of general AI is intended to complement authors' work and not to replace it. Library representatives emphasized that all materials are copyrighted or in the public domain. The library also expressed its willingness to work more closely with the literary community to address emerging issues and create new opportunities for writers and publishers.

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