Making Books with Generative AI by Harley Smart

Making Books with Generative AI is an early creative exploration of large language models and their role in contemporary book arts, published by Anteism:

Drawing on nearly two decades of experience as a publisher, bookbinder, and artist, Harley Smart explores how artificial intelligence is transforming the ways books are conceived, written, designed, and produced.

Combining publishing history, creative experimentation, and practical research, Making Books with Generative AI examines the opportunities and challenges presented by Large Language Models, image generation systems, and machine-assisted publishing workflows. Through a series of artist books and speculative prototypes, the publication considers new relationships between creativity, authorship, and technology.

Handbound in Montréal, this first edition features an exposed sewn binding and letterpress-printed covers on handmade cotton rag paper.

In this publication, letterpress impressions sit beside generated images. Drop caps introduce Authentic Sans, stretched and slanted out of shape. Cotton rag paper preserves visuals born to circulate.

The publication moves between different systems of production, gathering materials that rarely share the same space. It builds a visual language made of recycled images, borrowed forms and generative prompts.