I kind of don't understand the issue - IANAL, so I'm not going to delve on the legality of things, but I think making automated book recommendations better is absolutely fits the bill for 'transformative use' - as in book recommendations are in no way a substitute product for books themselves.
And personally, I think book recommendations are an absolutely underserved market, if I liked a book, having the ability to find more like it would be an absolute godsend for connecting authors with people who would be interested in their works, resulting in much more potential sales for them.
I can't count how many times have I discovered an absolutely great book on Amazon with like 50 reviews accidentally, as well as other, objectively less recommendable books that have nevertheless made an impression on me.
Discovering these books is sort of a hobby of mine, and is the exact kind of activity an LLM would be a great help with.
Going further, if there was an LLM that could be asked for book recommendations for your particular tastes, it could also identify markets for books not yet written, and would give a hint to authors on what sort of books to write to find an audience.
> And personally, I think book recommendations are an absolutely underserved market
I haven't read about the industry in years but isn't it the case that the job of "book recommendations" is essentially the publishers job? They unironically try to sell you more than a book. An algorithm would threaten their worth.
(There are, of course, other useful functions like publishing and the irreplaceable editors, but neither require the capital strength of marketing.)
The whole point of this site is for people to express their opinions, and torginus took the time to write a thoughtful comment anout LLMs and how they might help both authors and readers.
As for your point about serendipity, torginus never said that he didn't wander book stores and libraries looking for books he wouldn't have been previously exposed to.
Based on the post, I'm sure they understood the basics of reading a variety of books, both good and bad -- there is no need to get judgemental.
And personally, I think book recommendations are an absolutely underserved market, if I liked a book, having the ability to find more like it would be an absolute godsend for connecting authors with people who would be interested in their works, resulting in much more potential sales for them.
I can't count how many times have I discovered an absolutely great book on Amazon with like 50 reviews accidentally, as well as other, objectively less recommendable books that have nevertheless made an impression on me.
Discovering these books is sort of a hobby of mine, and is the exact kind of activity an LLM would be a great help with.
Going further, if there was an LLM that could be asked for book recommendations for your particular tastes, it could also identify markets for books not yet written, and would give a hint to authors on what sort of books to write to find an audience.