Amazon: AI tool to translate e-books

Amazon has introduced an AI tool for the automatic translation of e-books. Kindle Translate can currently translate between English and Spanish, as well as from German to English, Amazon writes in a blog post.

The AI tool is intended for authors who participate in Amazon's "Kindle Direct Publishing" program – i.e., freelance authors who do not have a publisher behind them who can commission professional translations. Kindle Translate is intended to give such authors the opportunity to reach a wider audience and earn more money, Amazon writes.

Kindle Translate is currently still being tested as a beta and is only available to selected authors. According to Amazon, these authors have the option to view AI-generated translations of their book as a preview – or simply to publish the AI translation. "All translations are automatically checked for accuracy," Amazon writes – without going into detail about who or what performs this task.

Label indicates AI translation

E-books translated with Kindle Translate can be purchased in the Amazon Store. A label is intended to inform potential buyers that AI has been used for the translation of the book. They will also have the opportunity to read test sections to check the quality of the translation (and the text itself) before purchasing. Amazon intends to introduce more languages for translation over time.

Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing allows anyone to write and publish e-books for the Kindle marketplace. There are no strict quality controls, and authors can also freely set the price of their work. Many of these self-published books are not only translated by AI but were also written by AI. As early as 2023, hundreds of books were sold on Amazon that list ChatGPT as a co-author.

(dahe)