Artificial intelligence tools have been the focus of many recent media reports, whether because they are being used to generate essays, dissertations and other course assignments by students, to analyse data for research or to create entirely new works by individuals and organisations.
The main issues being cited in legal cases are:
Copyright because:
Other legal and ethical issues to consider include:
As with any tool or device, the quality of the end result depends on the instructions it receives and what information it has to work with, so the more detailed prompts are, and the more content that's available to the tool, the better the end results.
Under U.S. copyright law, fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works for certain purposes. However, the onus is on the word 'fair' which results in many legal cases. We don't have such a broad provision in UK law, although we have legal exceptions for specific purposes, some under 'Fair Dealing'.
One of these is the legal exception S.29A for computational text and data mining and analysis from lawfully accessed sources, but there are limitations:
Database 'Terms of Use' generally prohibit the use of large quantities of content to be extracted and uploaded onto another platform but S.29A contains a non-contractual override clause which means contract terms that prevent researchers making copies to carry out text and data mining for computational analysis will be unenforceable.
Other issues to consider when uploading content to AI tools are:
The ownership issue is particularly restrictive as it is highly unlikely the person uploading content to an AI tool actually owns the copyright in the content they're uploading.
As referencing is a fundamental requirement of any academic work, the use of AI to create such a work would also be problematic.
AI generated references must be authenticated before requesting copies from the library or citing them in your work. AI tools have been creating fake references which result in unnecessary work for the Inter- Library Loans team and can also result in academic misconduct proceedings if used in coursework assignments. You should always say where you have used AI to generate a piece of work for complete transparency.
See information on Academic Integrity
Guidance on Referencing and avoiding Plagiarism is available in the: Referencing & Plagiarism Libguide
The UK Government recently ran a consultation on their proposed plans for implementing a pro-innovation approach to AI regulation. Documents relating to the proposal and consultation are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-regulation-a-pro-innovation-approach
For any further information or advice, please contact Kate Vasili at : k.vasili@mdx.ac.uk
Copyright ownership of works generated by AI is a controversial area that courts worldwide are currently having to navigate.
In response to the 'Monkey Selfie' copyright ownership dispute, the United States Copyright Office published an opinion, included in the third edition of the office's Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, clarifying that "only works created by a human can be copyrighted under United States law, which excludes photographs and artwork created by animals or by machines without human intervention" and that "Because copyright law is limited to 'original intellectual conceptions of the author', the [copyright] office will refuse to register a claim if it determines that a human being did not create the work." This statement has since been confirmed in the patent registration denial of inventions and works created by Dr Thaler's AI generator DABUS and the Théâtre D'opéra Spatial image. This has resulted in all computer /machine generated works in the US being uncopyrighted and in the public domain.
UK law doesn't mention a human requirement, but does require an 'Author' to be a person. S.9 (3) CDPA 1988 also states that "In the case of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer-generated, the author shall be taken to be the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work are undertaken." This could effectively be the creator of the machine/generator, the programmer and possibly the person who instructs or prompts the machine on what to create. Therefore copyright could possibly apply to AI generated works under UK law, and other jurisdictions with similar provisions.
There is an argument as to the originality of the work produced if the machine has been trained on previously existing works, but as humans also take inspiration and learn from people, past works and past technology (i.e. by standing on the shoulders of giants), this is debateable and for courts to decide on a case by case basis.
Legal cases that have recently been reported include:
The fake hit track “Heart on My Sleeve” created by AI by simulating the voices of ''Drake and 'The Weekend'. (See New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/19/arts/music/ai-drake-the-weeknd-fake.html)
Getty are suing an Stability AI in the US for the unlicensed use of their images by the generative tool, and have also sought an injunction to prevent sales in the UK. (See New York Post - https://nypost.com/2023/06/01/getty-sues-stability-ai-system-to-stop-uk-sales/)
More actions and complaints are summarised by Ben Lutkevich for TechTarget.com here: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/AI-lawsuits-explained-Whos-getting-sued
Television and Radio playlist: 'Artificial Intelligence, Copyright and Ethics' in Box of Broadcasts (Authentication required)
Guidance:
JISC Innovation: Artificial Intelligence
UNESCO Guidance for generative AI in education and research
ICO Guidance on AI and data protection
Copyrightuser.org - Algorithms by Aline Iramina
KR21 Principles on Artificial Intelligence, Science and Research
Microsoft announces new Copilot Copyright Commitment for customers by Brad Smith (2023)
Further Reading:
A Scanner Darkly: Copyright Liability and Exceptions in Artificial Intelligence Inputs and Outputs by A. Guadamuz (2023), University of Sussex
JISC Involve: An introduction to copyright law and practice in education, and the concerns arising in the context of Generative AI by John Kelly (March 2024)