Academic forum explores future of publishing industry at London Book Fair

A forward-looking academic forum titled "Beyond Borders: Breaking-through and Reshaping of the Future Publishing" was held at the London Book Fair on Wednesday, bringing together international publishing professionals, scholars, and technology experts for an in-depth dialogue on the transformation of the global publishing industry in the age of artificial intelligence.

Ji Weimin, president of China Social Sciences Press, said that as AI is reshaping how knowledge is produced and distributed, and readers demand interactive and evolving knowledge solutions rather than static books, the publishing industry faces an urgent shift from traditional content provision to knowledge services.

"The whole industry needs to agree: shifting from being a 'publishing house' to 'knowledge service providers' is the only way to survival," Ji said.

He added that publishers should embrace key technologies such as AI and natural language processing to develop interactive courses, smart libraries, and other tools that make knowledge more accessible and easier to use.

Catriona MacLeod Stevenson, general counsel & deputy CEO of the Publishers Association, a leading UK publishing organization, echoed Ji's views while emphasizing the importance of balancing innovation with copyright protection.

"The first thing to say is that we are not anti-AI," she said.

Publishers support AI for training trusted models, but weakening copyright or creating global exceptions could undermine authors' and publishers' rights.

"Licensing is the appropriate mechanism for market development," she added.

Niels Peter Thomas, executive vice-president of Books, Springer Nature, an academic publishing company, reflected on the changes in the publishing industry over the past 20 years. He noted that both workflows and the role of publishers have evolved significantly. Breaking traditional boundaries, he suggested, can create value by expanding high-quality content and author networks, building content-aggregating platforms, achieving economies of scale, and integrating technical expertise.

Angus Phillips, director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing and Journalism at Oxford Brookes University, highlighted that AI accentuates the value of publishers' work, including high-quality content, careful curation, accountability, and author support. At the same time, it opens new opportunities in areas such as product innovation, service expansion, cost management, audio, and translation.

Li Desheng, dean of the School of Publishing, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, added a broader perspective on the mission of publishing, stating that it has evolved from merely appreciating diverse civilizations to fostering harmony, aiming to build a "Noah's Ark" for human knowledge.

The forum concluded with a discussion about how the publishing industry can better support the promotion of nationwide reading, noting that both China and the UK place great emphasis on encouraging reading among the general public.