Today I am going to be looking at artificial intelligence and the way that AI could be potentially copyrighted or violate a copyright. This matters to me because as someone who likes art, music, and literature I am concerned and also fascinated about the way AI could be used in these different fields and how copyright could impact AI being used. According to the Harvard Business Review, there are already AI claims in court regarding the usage of artists/writers work without being credited. Why does this matter? Well, if an artist creates a work that is theirs and AI uses it to generate something based off of that work there is no way for an average person using the AI to know who’s work it actually is, which damages these industries. It takes away viewership and support for artists/writers and gives credit falsely to AI which is problematic. There are currently existing laws about AI and copyright but some of these laws are very vague and people are pushing for there to be more clear laws regarding the use of AI and copyright. In the future as AI becomes more advanced than it is now hopefully lawmakers will take it seriously and there will be adequate copyright laws placed on AI. Generative AI Has an Intellectual Property Problem (hbr.org)
I asked Microsoft Copilot (AI) how copyright can impact it’s use, and this is what it said: Copyright laws significantly impact how AI, like me, can be used, especially in terms of content creation and data usage. Here are a few key points:
- Training Data: AI models are often trained on large datasets that may include copyrighted material. Using such data without proper licensing can lead to copyright infringement issues12.
- Generated Content: The content created by AI can also raise copyright questions. For instance, if an AI generates a piece of art or music, determining who owns the copyright can be complex. Current laws generally require a human author for copyright protection3.
- Fair Use: Some uses of copyrighted material might be covered under fair use, but this is a nuanced area and varies by jurisdiction. Fair use typically allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research4.
- Legal Ambiguity: The rapid advancement of AI technology is outpacing existing copyright laws, leading to legal ambiguities. Courts and lawmakers are still working to establish clear guidelines on how copyright laws apply to AI5.
These factors mean that developers and users of AI need to be very careful about how they handle copyrighted material to avoid legal issues. If you have any specific questions or need more details, feel free to ask!
So, this statement would make you think that AI is aware of copyright laws and how to not copyright, but it is a different story when you are actually using AI. When you ask AI to generate words or images they are pulling from images and sources already on the web so with that information you have to be very careful what you are using that is being ‘created’ by AI.
