Wikipedia at 25 grapples with new challenges arising from generative AI
Wikipedia celebrated its 25th birthday this month. Given the centrality of Wikipedia to so much activity online, it is hard to remember (or to imagine, for those who…
Leaders in the generative AI world are daring to say the unsayable: that copyright is not sacrosanct
For the last hundred years or so, the prevailing dogma has been that copyright is an unalloyed good, and that more of it is better. Whether that was…
How modern Mountweasels could block generative AI and undermine access to knowledge
Last week, an interesting problem with the generative AI system ChatGPT emerged, reported here by Ars Technica: people discovered that the name “David Mayer” breaks ChatGPT. 404 Media…
Penguin Random House hopes copyright bluster will scare off generative AI
As Walled Culture has reported, a number of major publishers have brought legal actions against generative AI companies, alleging copyright infringement. These cases are still grinding through the…
German court: LAION’s generative AI training dataset is legal thanks to EU copyright exceptions
The copyright world is currently trying to assert its control over the new world of generative AI through a number of lawsuits, several of which have been discussed…
Why generative AI companies should pay artists to create new works, and give away the results
The latest obsession in the world of copyright is trying to get generative AI companies to pay for using creative material for training purposes. As various posts have…
Now with added generative AI: a new way to abuse the broken copyright system
As Walled Culture the book (free digital versions available) recounts, one of the many problems with copyright is that it can be used – and abused – for purposes…
A French collecting society wants a tax on generative AI, payable to…collecting societies
Back in October last year, Walled Culture wrote about a proposed law in France that would see a tax imposed on AI companies, with the proceeds being paid…
Generative AI will be a huge boon for the public domain – unless copyright blocks it
A year ago, I noted that many of Walled Culture’s illustrations were being produced using generative AI. During that time, AI has developed rapidly. For example, in the…
Good artists copy, great artists steal – and generative AI does the marketing for both
The attacks on generative AI started out claiming that it was all about protecting the creators whose works were being “stolen” in some mysterious way by virtue of…
Internet Archive: new copyright laws for generative AI would “further entrench” market leaders
The current excitement over artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, has now reached the stage where governments feel they need to do something about it in terms of…
Lawrence Lessig on copyright, generative AI and the right to train
Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and one of the biggest names in the world of digital copyright. Walled Culture’s…
Generative AI in Google search is great news for the true fans model, but what about publishers?
Most of the analysis of generative AI – things like Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT – has focused on how it will affect creators. But another important aspect is…
Canadian musician Grimes shows how to embrace generative AI for fun and profit
Back in November last year, Walled Culture wrote about the growing panic in the copyright world as a result of generative AI programs writing music. Since then, the…
The copyright world is preparing to hobble yet another innovative technology – generative AI
Last week Walled Culture noted that there already are two lawsuits against generative AI systems that are causing such a buzz at the moment. Both those legal actions…
The first lawsuit against generative AI seems doomed to fail because it misunderstands the technology
Back in October last year, a Walled Culture post noted that generative AI programs were likely to have a massive impact on both copyright and creation. When programs…