How authorship is made and named: a meta-aggregator / Human Authored Certification
Human Authored Certification
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/
counterpositionBoundary and governanceactive
The archive's reading. The archive reads the certificate as an explicit counterposition that asserts authorship's boundary at the human writing of a text, admits machine participation only as 'minimal uses', and binds the non-member's claim to an identity check. It answers #1722's verdict of fakeness for a work with the author's own certification; where machine participation is constitutive of the work, its definition leaves no certifiable place, and the saved page does not say whether the certificate carries the name the author chose.
| Relation to this census | counterposition |
|---|---|
| Record type | policy |
| The question it answers | boundary assertion: whether an author has certified that a book's text was written by a human, on the Guild's definition |
| Kind | certification: a project of the Authors Guild that lets an author certify that their book is created by a human, with a public database of certifications and a certification mark |
| Operator | the Authors Guild |
| Evidence | certification; catalogue |
| Unit of record | a certification of one book title, with a Human Authored registration number, listed in the public database |
| What it records | books published in the United States whose authors certify that the text was written by a human and not generated by AI, minimal uses excepted |
| Whose authorship it keeps | the author's own certification that a human wrote the text of a book, for any author with a book published in the United States who agrees to the licensing terms |
| Under what name | not recorded on the saved page: the database is searchable by title, authors or registration number; the page does not say whether a certification may carry a pen name; non-members must verify their identity through a third-party service, members are exempt from that requirement |
| Who holds it | the Authors Guild, under a licensing agreement each certifying author signs; free to Guild members (included in dues), $10 per title for non-members; certifications are listed in a public database |
| Authorial function and responsibility | self-certification under licence: the author certifies that 'the text of the book was written by a human and not generated by AI', minimal uses excepted (spelling and grammar checks, research); every certifying author signs a licensing agreement; non-members verify identity through a third-party service; the certification covers the text and is listed by title, authors and registration number |
| Method | author self-certification under a licensing agreement, through the Human Authored portal; identity verification through a third-party service for non-members |
| Coverage | geography: books published in the United States; period: not stated on the saved page |
| Count | value: not stated in the saved source; as_of: 2026-11-01 |
| Holdings | a public database of Human Authored certifications, searchable by title, authors or registration number; a certification mark with usage guidelines; an announcement of the expanded program and FAQs (linked, unread) |
| Stated limits | 'with the exception of minimal uses such as AI applications that check spelling and grammar or for research'; available only to 'authors with books published in the United States who agree to the licensing terms'; the certification covers 'the text of the book' |
| Data access | a public database for lookups; certification through the Human Authored portal (Guild login, or an account for non-members) |
| Licence | each certifying author agrees to the program's licensing terms (unread); the site is '© Authors Guild All Rights Reserved.' |
| Lifecycle | state: active; detail: the page links an announcement of the expanded Human Authored program; no launch date on the saved page |
| Version and time | read: 2026-11-01 |
What its record can settle
- whether a named book carries a Human Authored certification, and its registration number
- on what terms an author may certify a book (fee, identity verification, licensing agreement)
What it cannot settle
- whether a certified text was in fact written without AI (the record is the author's certification; no verification of the text is stated)
- whether an author may certify under a pen name or heteronym (not on the saved page)
- anything about books published outside the United States
Kept apart
- NOT a test or detection of AI text: it records the author's own certification
- NOT a copyright registration
- NOT limited to Authors Guild members: non-members may certify for $10 per title with identity verification
- NOT a certification of the whole book: it covers the text
- NOT the database alone: the row's object is the certification policy, whose public database and mark are parts of it
Evidence
- self_description (the resource's own statement):
Human Authored is a project of the Authors Guild that allows an author to certify that their book is created by a human.
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - definition (the resource's own statement):
“Human Authored” means that the text of the book was written by a human and not generated by AI, with the exception of minimal uses such as AI applications that check spelling and grammar or for research.
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - coverage (the resource's own statement):
Human Authored certification is available to all authors with books published in the United States who agree to the licensing terms.
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - membership (the resource's own statement):
Membership is not required but the $10/title fee and identity verification requirement are waived for Authors Guild members.
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - database (the resource's own statement):
Human Authored certifications are listed in a public database where anyone can verify a book’s human origins. You can search for a title, authors, or Human Authored registration number to see and confirm the certification details.
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - requirements (the resource's own statement):
Identity Verification Not required Required Cost Free! (included in dues) $10/title
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - identity (the resource's own statement):
You will have to verify your identity through a third-party service and pay a $10/title registration fee.
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - tagline (the resource's own statement):
Distinguish human creativity in an increasingly AI world.
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - expanded (the resource's own statement):
Announcement of the expanded Human Authored program
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - mark (the resource's own statement):
Usage guidelines for the Human Author certification mark
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - license (the resource's own statement):
© Authors Guild All Rights Reserved.
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d… - licensing_required (the resource's own statement):
Licensing Agreement Required Required
https://authorsguild.org/human-authored/ · read 2026-11-01 · http 200 · sha256 719fb6415db6ce4d…
Unchecked
the public Human Authored database (no lookup was run); the licensing agreement, the FAQs, the usage guidelines and the announcement of the expanded program (linked; unsaved); the program's launch date and the number of certifications (not on the saved page); any rule on pen names or pseudonyms (not on the saved page)
Cite: Lee Sharks, ed. "Human Authored Certification." How authorship is made and named: a meta-aggregator, leesharks.com, compiled 2026-11-01. https://www.leesharks.com/apparatus/aggregators/authors-guild-human-authored