The year 2023 is the rise of Artificial Intelligence, specifically Generative AI. The technology itself isn’t new; numerous tech companies have developed and launched desktop/web/mobile apps with some “generative” components — Maybe you recall having fun with the SimSimi chatbot or have been using the Snapseed background remover feature?
It is the launch of GPT-4 in March 2023 that triggered the rise and public (non-tech) interest in the technology. The ChatGPT user interface provides easy accessibility for usage and the GPT-4 high-quality content-generation capability took the world by storm as people started seeing the utilization potential of this technology.
This Generative AI democratization — the rapid adoption and usage from the populace — comes with some risks and implications, including legally and ethically. Legal/regulation-wise, this is still uncharted territory, but it is still a good idea to be aware of the potential implications of the technology.
The Legal and Ethical Perspectives on Generative AI
Generative AI, with human creativity of usage, can (knowingly or unknowingly) be a source of legal threats. Generative AI regulation is currently (by July 2023) still a relatively open and debatable space, but the risks are imminent regardless.
1. Copyright and Ownership
Quoting Wikipedia, copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform creative work, usually for a limited time. In Generative AI, the “owner” aspect of this copyright becomes unclear as there are multiple parties involved in the creation of the content, including: