Comment by nutjob2
6 hours ago
A factor that people have not considered is that the copyright status of AI generated text is not settled law and precedent or new law may retroactively change the copyright status of a whole project.
Maybe a bit unlikely, but still an issue no one is really considering.
There has been a single ruling (I think) that AI generated code is uncopyrightable. There has been at least one affirmative fair use ruling. Both of these are from the lower courts. I'm still of the opinion that generative AI is not fair use because its clearly substitutive.
I agree with you that generative AI is clearly not fair use.
However, at this point, the economic impact of trying to de tangle this mess would be so large, the courts likely won't do anything about it. You and I don't get to infringe on copyright; Microsoft, Facebook and Google sure do though.
I think the usage is so widespread now that the law will adapt to customs. It is untenable now to say code generated is uncopyrightable IMO. Maybe copyright as is defined right now is not enough, but then the legislation will change it. There is enough pressure on them from the business community to do so.
This only matters if you get sued for copyright violation, though.
No? Licenses still apply even if you _don't_ get sued?
Do they? Isn’t the application of the license its enforcement?
It’s illegal to commit fraud or murder, but if you do it and suffer no consequences (perhaps you even get pardoned by your president), does it matter that it was illegal? Laws are as strong as their enforcement.
For a less grim and more explicit example, Apple has a policy on the iOS App Store that apps may not use notifications to advertise. Yet it happens all the time, especially from big players like Uber. Apple themselves have done it too. So if you’re a bad actor and disrespectful to your users, does it matter that the rule exists?
At what time in the future does this not become an issue?
If you're a big enough target, that is inevitable.
You may become a big enough target only when it's too late to undo it.
I never thought of this, you are right. What happens if, let's say, AI generated text/code is "ilegal"? Especially what happens with all the companies that have been using it for their products? Do they need to rollback? It should be a shit show but super interesting to see it unfold...
Some take that in consideration, I did when I until recently was in a CTO role, and I've come across companies that take compliance seriously and have decided against such code synthesis due to the unclear legal status.