Did Facebook steal your publication to teach its AI?
Books, magazines, blogs, scientific research anything is fair game - so it seems
You’ve probably seen AI everywhere being used by big and small companies. I do not know how that works, but I learned very quickly that existing material was used to train AI models.
At first, I noticed that artists sounded the alarm that their art was stolen. I’ve read many accounts that the art popped out by the AI was like a reshuffling of the original painter or illustrator.
Audio theft
When Amazon thought their audio arm Audible had started using audiobooks to train speech AI, Findaway sneakily added the clause for Apple to also train their AI.
I have had two audiobooks made. Just in case you didn’t know, audiobooks are expensive to produce, and you are looking for a narrator who fits the story and is good at what they do.
So, not only the authors but also the narrators are getting screwed over. After all, it is their voices, quite literary, that are getting stolen.
I often see the argument about AI voices from indy authors: They don’t have the money but are happy to use a tool based on stolen goods. However, they don’t like it when their work ends up on pirated book sales sites.
And I have to say, if you can’t afford it, you have to save for it. It reeks of entitlement to want something you cannot yet and are happy to overlook your morals.
Publication theft
Only last week did the news come out that Meta grabbed anything they could handle. Here is one article about it.
Find out!
But the big question is: Is your published work among it? Here is a tool for searching for your publication or author name.
In my case, one of my books is on there.
What can you do?
The Writer’s Guilt is working on a class action suit, but you must become a member. I am not one either yet, but I am contemplating joining.
What art form is next?
Well, what the big tech companies are not comprised yet, but are working on.
Did you guess Music? If so, you are right.
The UK wants to become a hub for AI and is actively working on enabling tech companies to legally use copyrighted material to train their AI.
If you are in the music industry, you probably know much more about what’s going on there, and I am happy to hear some insider scoop.
However, prominent British artists demonstrated the change of laws with a silent album to protest the new law.
What will the future bring?
I feel like AI has already entered all our lives, whether we want it or not. And what was taken from artists across genres will never be compensated or apologized for. The laws are lagging in time, and people are actively using AI without thought or care.
Additionally, I barely see the massive environmental impact of AI in the discussion. Data centers must run somewhere, using much electricity and producing heat. Unfortunately, AI is not the only offender.
What are your thoughts on AI? Are you using it as part of your daily life?
I have been shocked by how many people I see in comments across various social media platforms stating that they asked ChatGPD or have been using DeepSake.