The Economist explains

Does generative artificial intelligence infringe copyright?

Several lawsuits, one brought by the New York Times, could soon answer the question

Visitors watch a projection at the Serpentine North Gallery during a press preview of a new exhibition of Refik Anadol's AI generated work, London, UK.
Photograph: Getty Images

GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) will transform the workplace. The International Monetary Fund reckons that AI tools, which includes ones that produce text or images from written prompts, will eventually affect 40% of jobs. Goldman Sachs, a bank, says that the technology could replace 300m jobs worldwide. Sceptics say those estimates exaggerate. But some industries seem to be feeling the effects already. A paper published in August 2023 on SSRN, a repository for research which has yet to undergo formal peer review, suggests that the income of self-employed “creatives”—writers, illustrators and the like—has fallen since November 2022, when ChatGPT, a popular AI tool, was released.

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