Companies defending themselves from copyright claims by artists may claim “fair use”, with an exception sometimes allowed when a new spin is put on a creation or when it is quoted only briefly. is done.
“The magic word used in the US court system is ‘transformational’,” said Matthew Butrick, a lawyer and developer.
“Is this a new use of the copyrighted work, or does it replace the original in the marketplace?”
Artists are not only turning to the courts, but also to technology to defend themselves against Generative AI.
Inspired by artists, last week a team from the University of Chicago launched their ‘Glaze’ software to help protect original works.
The program adds a layer of data onto the images that, while invisible to the human eye, “acts as a decoy” for the AI, said Shaun Shan, the doctoral student in charge of the project.
This still leaves the onus on the artists to adopt the glaze. Butterick predicts a “cat-and-mouse game” as AI makers figure out ways to circumvent such defenses.
Butterick also worries about the effect of AI on the human soul.
“When science fiction imagines an AI apocalypse, it’s something like robots coming over a hill with laser guns,” he said.
“I think the way AI defeats humanity is more where people just give up and don’t want to create new things, and (it) sucks the life out of humanity.”