At City Books, we believe in the power of lived experience and shared stories. A beating heart and a thoughtful mind are behind everything we do. As a result, we attest that all creative work produced at City Books is generated by a real person without the aid of AI tools. Similarly, all communication that emanates from City Books, including emails, social media posts, book reviews, and marketing flyers, is designed, written, or answered by a real person who remains accountable for its content.
In addition, City Books will not knowingly stock books or merchandise that has used artificial intelligence at any point in the development process, this includes but is not limited to idea generation and prompts, research, outlining, writing and/or translating, editing, and cover design. If we learn that AI has been used, the offending item(s) will be removed from the shelf and a public notification of our error will be posted on our website and social media channels.
As publishers and booksellers navigate a rapidly changing technological landscape, we know that authors and creators may not agree what AI “use” is. (e.g. Listen to David Sedaris’s Fresh Air interview here.) Many of us will make mistakes as our practices coalesce and are codified around our values. At City Books, we believe the best use of our influence is educating ( or “calling in”) others about the long-term problems and consequences of AI rather than calling out or bullying offenders for experimenting with new technologies.
That is not to say we condone the use of AI; we emphatically do not. But we do encourage fact-based conversation, even spirited debate, among colleagues with differing opinions. After all, it is the multinational corporations and billionaires who are forcing this dehumanizing technology upon us–not other artists, authors, or bookstores.
As a result, City Books has developed the following HI label that we will begin to use on select communication moving forward.
Please feel free to contact the bookshop at citybookspgh@gmail.com with any questions or concerns about this banner specifically or our policy in general.
This page will be modified as circumstances require.
Last update: 28 September 2026