Training AI models on copyrighted works is "squarely what transformative use is," EFF’s Tori Noble told Reason - these are "general purpose tools" and "exactly the kind of creation that copyright is designed to foster.” https://reason.com/2026/09/04/doj-says-barring-ai-training-on-copyrighted-material-could-severely-hamper-tech-progress/
If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to cancel any donations to these libertarian tech bros.
Technically the truth. AI is trained on copyrighted works, but so is every artist alive today. There’s just a really important difference in human inspiration and creativity and a computer program piecing together what it’s already seen. One creates something new while standing on the shoulders of what came before, while the other just remixes what’s already there and tramples upon the backs of what came before. I think it’s important to know the difference.
The scale is also massively different. Some artist or intellectual reused the work of a few preceding people people and became famous (and sometimes rich) instead of them. But in the case of AI it’s a couple of already ultra rich owners vs millions of likely mostly struggling creators.
Technically the truth. AI is trained on copyrighted works, but so is every artist alive today. There’s just a really important difference in human inspiration and creativity and a computer program piecing together what it’s already seen. One creates something new while standing on the shoulders of what came before, while the other just remixes what’s already there and tramples upon the backs of what came before. I think it’s important to know the difference.
The scale is also massively different. Some artist or intellectual reused the work of a few preceding people people and became famous (and sometimes rich) instead of them. But in the case of AI it’s a couple of already ultra rich owners vs millions of likely mostly struggling creators.
The law has suspiciously little to say about wealth concentration. Hm.
The main problem is that AI just creates what I call “Collage Slop”.