(BNS) The Legality Of The AI Stuff

Apr 5, 2025 31m

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Episode Description

Is what happened with the Studio Ghibli ChatGPT image generation stuff even legal? I spoke with AI lawyer Rob Rosenberg, former general counsel at Showtime Networks and founder and principal of Telluride Legal Strategies about it, and what he told me was very interesting.

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The State of Copyright Law and AI

Brian McCullough discusses the current landscape of copyright law with Rob Rosenberg, an expert in the field. They explore how technological advances, particularly with AI, have created ambiguities in the law, leading to potential conflicts between copyright holders and AI developers. Rob highlights that while some aspects of copyright are well-established, the rise of AI technologies has introduced numerous legal challenges, particularly regarding fair use and the ability to scrape copyrighted works for training AI models.

Fair Use and Copyright Holders’ Rights

The conversation delves into the fair use doctrine, explaining how AI companies justify using copyrighted works to train their algorithms. Rob argues that while these companies may claim their use is transformative, copyright holders maintain that they deserve recognition and compensation for the use of their intellectual property. This tension is exemplified by the recent controversy involving Studio Ghibli and AI-generated imagery, raising questions about market harm and ownership.

AI's Transformative Nature and Legal Complexity

Rob Rosenberg discusses the complexities of determining whether AI-generated content can be considered transformative under copyright law. He elaborates on how courts might interpret transformations and the challenges of establishing a workable legal framework for AI models that utilize scraped copyrighted works as part of their training. The conversation reflects a need for greater clarity in the legal definitions of originality and authorship in the context of AI-generated content.

Future Directions in Copyright Law and AI

As the episode wraps up, both Brian and Rob look forward to what the future holds for copyright law as it relates to AI. They emphasize the potential need for statutory licenses to facilitate a balance between the interests of copyright owners and AI developers. Rob warns that privacy and data protection concerns will also play an increasingly significant role as the technology continues to evolve.