Issues around copyright and content ownership

- Another big ethical issue with generative AI is the issue of what constitutes original and proprietary content. Think about what we already know. Generative AI models are trained on massive amounts of training data. Well, that data, whether it's text, image, video, or audio, was created by a person. That means that someone's original work was used to train the AI model that will eventually create its own novel content. Artists in every industry have raised concerns about this aspect of generative AI. After all, the original creators that provided material to feed the training data weren't given credit, nor in many cases did they get paid or provide consent. Does this mean that the new technology has essentially stolen the intellectual property of many? Normally, there are serious legal consequences if you use someone else's work without permission. All of these are important questions that deserve considerable attention. Also, this can quickly become a slippery slope, because what happens if AI created assets are used as training data to inform future AI models? It likely wouldn't take very long for AI assets to be many generations removed from anything original. All of this raises additional issues of payment for creative works. What happens when people and businesses choose AI created assets, instead of hiring an original artist to do the work? What effect will this have on graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, and other creators? It hardly seems fair that creative professionals might end up losing jobs to AI, which may have been trained on their own creative works to begin with. There's also the question of copyright. Since AI generated assets are technically an original work, who owns the copyright? The company that created the AI model, the person who created the work with a prompt? Nobody? Traditionally, copyright laws protect original works of authorship, whether they be literary, artistic, performative or musical. That copyright ownership is automatically and immediately bestowed upon the artist, giving them sole right to make copies of the work, distribute it, and so on. Some people may believe you first need to register the copyright at the copyright office, but that's not the case. Copyright is automatic. Registering copyright is necessary, however, if you intend to sue someone for copyright infringement. Well, generative AI can fall into any of these literary, artistic, performative, or musical categories. However, there's currently not a clear consensus on who owns the copyright of AI generated works. As of this recording of this course, the US Copyright Office has stated that "AI generated images are not protectable under copyright law, as they are not the product of human authorship." That means that artists that create AI generated works are ineligible to register for copyright. Bottom line, the law on this issue is still rapidly evolving and we're likely in for many years of legal decisions regarding this complex issue. By the time you're watching this course, there may be clearer rules about all of this stuff, but for now, we're waiting, and in many cases, submerged in very interesting legal waters. If you're a creative professional that is using generative AI in your workflow and you're worried about potentially violating copyright, there are some things you can do; when writing prompts, don't reference specific artwork or artists or brands or trademarks. Also, consider just using generative AI for ideation and inspiration, rather than as the final output. If you commit to either creating your own original work or hiring someone else to do it, you won't enter into the murky waters of who owns the creative work you use.