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submitted 1 year ago by MJBrune@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

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So recently there has been a lot of debate on AI-generated art and its copyright. I've read a lot of comments recently that made me think of this video and I want to highly encourage everyone to watch it, maybe even watch it again if you already viewed it. Watch it specifically with the question "If an AI did it, would it change anything?"

Right now, AI-generated works aren't copyrightable. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/ai-generator-art-text-us-copyright-policy-1234661683/ This means you can not copyright the works produced by AI.

I work in games so this is more seemingly relevant to me than maybe it is to you. https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/03/valve-responds-to-claims-it-has-banned-ai-generated-games-from-steam/ Steam has outright said, earlier this month, that it will not publish games on its platform without understanding if the training data has been of images that aren't public domain.

So right now, common AI is producing works that are potentially copyright-infringing works and are unable to be copyrighted themselves.

So with this information, should copyright exist, and if not, how do you encourage artists and scientists to produce works if they no longer can make a living off of it?

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[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Current copyright law doesn't require proving anything other than priority of registration/publication.

Current copyright law doesn't require registration or publication in the USA.

sue them in court and thus you are suing them and the onus is on YOU to make your case that you hold the copyright.

Precisely: while copyright doesn't require registration or publication to exist, it does require it to prove in court that it exists. Its abstract existence is moot by itself.

If you generate some AI art, and register or publish it as your own, that's the only proof you (currently) need in court to sue anyone who'd copy it.

Regarding Steam, my guess is they're only gonna CYA and ask you for a statement of ownership, so they can throw you under the bus if anyone comes up with proof that you used AI to generate your assets. (One such proof could be publishing a YouTube video boasting how your game uses AI generated art... don't do that).

Game studios are definitely going to publish games with AI art, they'll just "forget" to disclose it was AI generated, and if they get some whistleblower, they'll claim that their copyright is on their transformative use.

If Steam wants to retract all games like that, just wait and see how many will fall.

[–] MJBrune@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Some random nft greedy indie studio might publish with ai art and like about it but that's not going to be the norm.

[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hey, you just stole my business model! (jk... or am I 🤔)

But seriously, just yesterday I saw a news blurb on TV about a studio making a game with AI-based characters like Einstein, Sagan, and similar, trained on all their published documents and public appearances. As far as I know, the Einstein real estate is a really greedy bunch of folks, charging through the nose for any material related to him... and I have my doubts they got a license for Sagan or the others either.

Just eager to see how that one plays out.

[–] MJBrune@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

We'll see. Likeness rights are also a thing.