Wild that they let academics self-identify. One is from the "Global Banking School" FFS.

One Dutch publisher is trying AI and we know CR loves it, so maybe they'll push it on less popular series. But I can't imagine it will survive long in the market. LN fandom is too dedicated for that.

That's fair. Supposedly no one's quite sure how to market books anymore. Book clubs don't work, only TikTok. So someone's bound to try a harebrained scheme like that to engineer vitality.

I'd be more worried about them buying out Hachette and logistics going to pot than the contents of the book.

I'd also be more nervous about fiction in translation that isn't weeb related. Yen Press exists for the weeb stuff, the infrastructure is there. It's possible Sony might start rights hoarding and declining to license the titles they hold that don't fit Yen Press.

I've taken the view that publishing is probably least at risk, as that's the part Sony doesn't yet have. I don't think they'd go into an industry and then trash everything, but maybe.

If Sony invests, it could be good disruption. How can they sell more than ever but authors be poorer than ever?