AI – Artificial Intelligence – is growing apace.
Like many aspects of technology, it is a useful tool, which is already part of our daily lives – and whose use will undoubtedly expand exponentially in the coming months and years.
But like any fast-growing tech, ethics and regulation haven’t quite caught up yet.
Eric, a student doing research on the intersection of writing and AI, contacted me to ask:
As a writer, how do you feel about big tech giants using books to train their AI systems?
Should authors be compensated?
If so how much?
Here is my response:
Almost a year ago, I started to add a clause in the front matter of my books that I do not wish them to be used to train AI without my permission.
If they were, I would certainly wish to be compensated. Otherwise, I see such use as a form of theft of intellectual property and breach of copyright.
Before I gave permission, I would like to know HOW my work would be used, and what outputs it would be used to generate. For example, I would not want AI to reproduce or mimic my work.
Regarding the amount of compensation, I don’t really know. It would depend on how the material was used and perhaps an annual fee to licence the work for AI training would be amenable.
That said, I am not at all keen to licence my work for AI training, because I see only potential risks, and no possible benefits to me personally, so it would have to be a substantial sum even to tempt me.
As an independent author with moderate book sales, I am not sure AI companies would see me as a valuable enough asset to pay what I would require. If I were to say what a tempting sum might be for me, perhaps a four figure sum per book, and my current portfolio is seven books.
also worth a read
Human on the verge of a nervous breakdown – Bjorn Larssen: a beautifully well-considered piece on how humans are making themselves redundant with the use of AI.
What are your thoughts on AI companies’ current unlicensed and uncontrolled of copyright works?
Join the discussion in the comments – or if you are interested in participating in Eric’s research, please contact me and I will put you in touch.
news just in – UK writer’s beware!
have your say in the uk’s open consultation
Turning Copyright on its Head: The UK’s Copyright Exception from Writer Beware is an interesting read. “the UK has put forward a series of proposals addressing issues around GAI (Generative AI) and copyright – including a significant change to copyright law: the creation of an exception to copyright that would allow GAI companies to train on internet material without having to seek permission from creators.”
This isn’t just an exception to copyright law – it’s the opposite. Rather than copyright sitting with the creator, the onus is on the creator to protect their work: an impossible task, as the article points out.
| If you want to have your say, there is an Open Consultation live until February 25th 2025. UK citizens can comment here. The Society of Authors is also seeking comment; you don’t have to be a member to fill out its survey, which you can find here. You can see the government’s overview, as well as the questions it is asking the public to weigh in on, here). |
My books ON HOW TO LIVE YOUR DREAM LIFE WITHOUT BEING A MILLIONAIRE OR LOTTERY WINNER!
protect your work & what to do if your book has been used to train ai without your consent
In this post, The Authors’ Guild offers advice on how to protect your work from AI and gives an example copyright notice against the use of AI.
Follow these links for advice from the Society of Authors and The Authors’ Guild on how to find out if your book has been used to train AI, and what to do if it has.
Get the Author’s Guild’s thoughts on AI licencing & compensation
Cover image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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