OpenAI warns copyright crackdown could doom ChatGPT

Authors including George R.R. Martin also sued OpenAI. Photo: Alexander Demyanchuk/TASS

Including authors John Grisham and George R.R. Martin are being sued by the company for using their books to teach ChatGPT.

This comes as ministers consider new copyright and artificial intelligence laws, which are seen as a legal gray area that has not yet been fully tested in the courts.< /p> p>

Ministers proposed updating copyright laws to exempt text and data mining in a bid to attract artificial intelligence developers, but abandoned the plans last year following a backlash from artists.

They were keen to conclude voluntary agreement between tech companies and the creative industries, but negotiations have been rocky, with the government recently admitting it may have to pass legislation to break the impasse.

The New York Times has demanded that OpenAI destroy any systems that have been trained using its work.< /p>

OpenAI has struck deals with publishers including the Associated Press and Axel Springer, the German media giant that owns Politico and Business Insider, to gain access to their content.

In its testimony, the company said it was seeking more agreements. with publishers, and also plans to develop tools that allow copyright holders to refuse to have their works used to train artificial intelligence systems.

Calls for looser regulation have been backed by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, which said the UK must adopt artificial intelligence or risk China's «authoritarian» dominance in technology.

In its own response to the Lords' inquiry An American investor said that the race to introduce new technology has “serious economic and ideological consequences.”

It says: “The UK's efforts in artificial intelligence are intertwined with its democratic structure, emphasizing individual freedoms, privacy and the spirit of open innovation. By contrast, the trajectory of artificial intelligence in China is heavily influenced by the priorities of government control and surveillance.»

Andreessen Horowitz, who backs tech giants like Facebook, Instagram and Airbnb, warned that over-regulation could lead to falling behind. in areas such as cybersecurity, intelligence and warfare.

It added: “If the UK leads the West, at the forefront of artificial intelligence, we can implement global norms that prioritize these democratic values ​​in developing countries.» A world driven by artificial intelligence.

“Rigid rules risk losing Western leadership to China, which will reshape the global tech ecosystem in ways that make it less transparent and more authoritarian, leading to a ripple effect that could redefine the internet's DNA for the next 20 years. «.