One prominent author responds to the revelation that his writing is being used to coach artificial intelligence.

By Stephen King

Non-paywalled link: https://archive.li/8QMmu

  • FaceDeer
    22•1 year ago

    As an artist, if another individual or company wants to use my work for their own commercial purposes in any way, even if just to ‘analyze’, they still need to pay for a license to do so.

    I think you need to review the relevant laws, that’s not true.

    For example, your comment that I’m responding to is copyrighted and you own the copyright. I just quoted part of it in my response without your permission, and that’s an entirely legal fair use. I also pasted your comment into Notepad++ and did a word count, there are 64 words in it. That didn’t break any laws either.

    A lot of people have very expansive and incorrect ideas about how intellectual property works.

    • RyanHeffronPhoto
      4•1 year ago

      that’s an entirely legal fair use

      Yet what these companies are doing does not constitute ‘fair use’, period, no matter how much you want to argue otherwise.

    • Kaldo
      4•1 year ago

      First of all, a random online comment is not protected by copyright law afaik.

      Secondly, if you did take something protected by copyright and then used it for commercial purposes (to make money off it), like these LLMs do, then you would be breaking the law.

      In short, I’d say you are using a flawed analogy from the start.

      Also copyright is not about just copying but also distributing as well. Playing.(radio) songs in your coffee shop for clients is treated differently than you listening to it at home. You generally can’t just profit off someone else’s work without them allowing it.

      • FaceDeer
        9•1 year ago

        First of all, a random online comment is not protected by copyright law afaik.

        You got a fundamental aspect of copyright law wrong right in the first line.

        Your comments are indeed protected by copyright.

        Secondly, if you did take something protected by copyright and then used it for commercial purposes

        That’s wrong too. Whether or not someone’s making money off of a copyright violation will affect the damages you can sue them for, but it’s copyright violation either way.

        Also copyright is not about just copying but also distributing as well. Playing.(radio) songs in your coffee shop for clients is treated differently than you listening to it at home.

        Technically true, but what does it have to do with these circumstances?

        You generally can’t just profit off someone else’s work without them allowing it.

        Generally speaking, sure you can. Why couldn’t you? People do work that other people profit off of all the time. If a carpenter builds a desk and then I go sit at it while doing my job and earning millions of dollars, I don’t need to ask the carpenter’s permission.

        Copyright has a few extra limitations, but those limitations are on copying stuff without permission.