Category Archives: Moral Rights

AI and Deep (and not so deep…) Fakes

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The New York Times recently posted a quiz – “can you tell the difference between a photograph, and an image created by AI?”

Of the quiz examples, a mix of actual photos and AI-generated content, I was only able to correctly identify 8/10 as to which were which. My significant other claimed to have scored 10/10! In my defence, I correctly identified all of the AI images, but I mistook two authentic photos as being fakes. Of the latter, one featured a bunch of famous people, most of whom I did not recognise, and the photo had been significantly cropped, removing much of the visual context (I also suspect it had been subject to some additional photo-shopping, given it was a publicity shot). The other real photo had been taken at such an unusual angle that it distorted some of the natural perspective, so as to make some elements look wonky. (But maybe I’ve become more cynical or sceptical, and therefore I tend to disbelieve more of what I see, the more I know I am being exposed to AI-generated content?)

How can we remain alert to AI deceptions, while at the same time recognizing and embracing the potential that this amazing technology has to offer?

Taking my lead from the New York Times article, the following blog has been created using ChatGPT. All I did was enter some brief subject headings (including the title), a series of internet links, and a prompt to turn it into a blog on AI and fakes. Can you tell what is true, what is hallucination, and what important information has been left out?

AI and Deep (and not so deep…) Fakes

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized numerous sectors, bringing forth innovations that were once unimaginable. However, one of the more controversial applications of AI is in the creation of deep fakes. These are hyper-realistic digital falsifications created using AI, capable of mimicking real people’s appearances and voices. This technology has sparked debates over ethics, security, and the future of digital media. Let’s delve into some recent examples and the implications they bring.

Dylan and Rodin: A Fabricated Encounter

A striking example of AI’s capacity to blur reality is the supposed encounter between Bob Dylan and the sculptor Auguste Rodin. In an article on Substack by Dave Haslam, the scenario of Dylan visiting Rodin’s Parisian studio is meticulously crafted, yet it’s a fabrication made plausible by AI tools. This fake story exemplifies how AI can create convincingly realistic yet entirely fictional narratives, challenging our ability to discern truth from fiction.

AI in Indian Elections

AI’s role extends beyond entertainment into more critical areas such as political campaigns. In the 2024 Indian elections, AI-generated deep fakes have been used to spread misinformation and manipulate public opinion. An article by ABC News details how AI is disrupting electoral processes, raising concerns about the integrity of democratic systems.

Mozilla’s Campaign Against Misinformation

In response to the growing threat of AI-generated misinformation, organizations like Mozilla have launched campaigns to protect the integrity of elections. Mozilla’s efforts aim to hold platforms like WhatsApp accountable for the spread of fake news and deep fakes, urging them to implement stricter controls to safeguard democratic processes.

Celebrity Persona Rights

AI’s ability to replicate real people has also sparked legal disputes, particularly concerning persona rights. Scarlett Johansson’s recent dispute with OpenAI highlights these issues. Johansson’s concerns about her likeness being used without consent underscore the broader debate about the ethical use of AI. As noted by Scientific American, the conflict brings to light questions about how AI-generated content can respect individual rights and privacy.

Legislative Actions on Deep Fakes

Governments are beginning to take action against the misuse of AI-generated content. In Australia, new laws are being proposed to combat the creation and distribution of deep fake pornography and other harmful images. The Guardian reports on legislative efforts to protect individuals from the malicious use of AI, reflecting a growing recognition of the need for regulation.

AI and Copyright

The intersection of AI and copyright law is another area of intense debate. A lawsuit involving famous authors against OpenAI raises questions about how AI uses copyrighted material for training and whether the content it generates can itself be copyrighted. This legal battle, reported by ABC News and Reuters, could set important precedents for how intellectual property laws adapt to the age of AI.

Conclusion

As AI technology continues to advance, its applications in creating deep fakes present both opportunities and challenges. While it can be used creatively and constructively, it also poses significant risks to privacy, security, and the authenticity of information. The ongoing developments in legislation, ethical guidelines, and technological safeguards will be crucial in shaping the future landscape of AI-generated content.

So, did you spot the “deliberate” error(s)? And what information was missing? Answers will be posted later this week.

Next week: AI & Music

AI and the Human Factor

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Earlier this month, I went to the Melbourne premiere of “Eno”, a documentary by Gary Hustwit, which is described as the world’s first generative feature film. Each time the film is shown, the choice and sequencing of scenes is different – no two versions are ever the same. Some content may never be screened at all.

I’ll leave readers to explore the director’s rationale for this approach (and the implications for film-making, cinema and streaming). But during a Q&A following the screening, Hustwit was at pains to explain that this is NOT a film generated by AI. He was also guarded and refrained from revealing too much about the proprietary software and hardware system he co-developed to compile and present the film.

However, the director did want to stress that he didn’t simply tell an AI bot to scour the internet, scrape any content by, about or featuring Brian Eno, and then assemble it into a compilation of clips. This documentary is presented according to a series of rules-based algorithms, and is a content-led venture curated by its creator. Yes, he had to review hours and hours of archive footage from which to draw key themes, but he also had to shoot new interview footage of Eno, that would help to frame the context and support the narrative, while avoiding a banal biopic or series of talking heads. The result is a skillful balance between linear story telling, intriguing juxtaposition, traditional interviews, critical analysis, and deep exploration of the subject. The point is, for all its powerful capabilities, AI could not have created this film. It needed to start with human elements: innate curiosity on the part of the director; intelligent and empathetic interaction between film maker and subject; and expert judgement in editing the content – as a well as an element of risk-taking in allowing the algorithm to make the final choices when it comes to each screened version.

That the subject of this documentary is Eno should not be surprising, either. He has a reputation for being a modern polymath, interested in science and technology as well as art. His use of Oblique Strategies in his creative work, his fascination with systems, his development of generative music, and his adoption of technology all point to someone who resists categorisation, and for whom work is play (and vice versa). In fact, imagination and play are the two key activities that define what it is to be human, as Eno explored in an essay for the BBC a few years ago. Again, AI does not yet have the power of imagination (and probably has no sense of play).

Sure, AI can conjure up all sorts of text, images, video, sound, music and other outputs. But in truth, it can only regurgitate what it has been trained on, even when extrapolating from data with which it has been supplied, and the human prompts it is given. This process of creation is more akin to plagiarism – taking source materials created by other people, blending and configuring them into some sort of “new” artefact, and passing the results off as the AI’s own work.

Plagiarism is neither new, nor is it exclusive to AI, of course. In fact, it’s a very natural human response to our environment: we all copy and transform images and sounds around us, as a form of tribute, hommage, mimicry, creative engagement, pastiche, parody, satire, criticism, acknowledgement or denouncement. Leaving aside issues of attribution, permitted use, fair comment, IP rights, (mis)appropriation and deep fakes, some would argue that it is inevitable (and even a duty) for artists and creatives to “steal” ideas from their sources of inspiration. Notably, Robert Shore in his book about “originality”. The music industry is especially adept at all forms of “copying” – sampling, interpolation, remixes, mash-ups, cover versions – something that AI has been capable of for many years. See for example this (limited) app from Google released a few years ago. Whether the results could be regarded as the works of J.S.Bach or the creation of Google’s algorithm trained on Bach’s music would be a question for Bach scholars, musicologists, IP lawyers and software analysts.

Finally, for the last word on AI and the human condition, I refer you to the closing scene from John Carpenter’s cult SciFi film, “Dark Star”, where an “intelligent” bomb outsmarts its human interlocutor. Enjoy!

Next week: AI hallucinations and the law

 

 

AI vs IP

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Can Artificial Intelligence software claim copyright in any work that was created using their algorithms?

The short answer is “no”, since only humans can establish copyright in original creative works. Copyright can be assigned to a company or trust, or it can be created under various forms of creative commons, but there still needs to be a human author behind the copyright material. While copyright may lapse over time, it then becomes part of the public domain.

However, the extent to which a human author can claim copyright in a work that has been created with the help of AI is now being challenged. A recent case in the USA has determined that the author of a graphic novel, which included images created using Midjouney, cannot claim copyright in those images. While it was accepted that the author devised the text and other prompts that the software used as the generative inputs, the output images themselves could not be the subject of copyright protection – meaning they are either in the public domain, or they fall under some category of creative commons? This case also indicates that, in the USA at least, failing to declare the use of AI tools in a work when applying for copyright registration may result in a rejected application.

Does this decision mean that the people who write AI programmes could claim copyright in works created using their software? Probably not – as this would imply that Microsoft could establish copyright in every novel written using Word, especially its grammar and spelling tools.

On the other hand, programmers and software developers who use copyright material to train their models may need to obtain relevant permission from the copyright holders (as would anyone using the AI tools and who uses copyright content as prompts), unless they could claim exemptions under “fair dealing” or “fair use” provisions.

We’re still early in the lengthy process whereby copyright and other intellectual property laws are tested and re-calibrated in the wake of AI. Maybe the outcomes of future copyright cases will depend on whether you are Ed Sheeran or Robin Thicke….

Next week: Customer Experience vs Process Design

 

Literary legacies

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As more classic works of literature come out of copyright protection, and enter the public domain, publishers and booksellers can look forward to sales of re-packaged titles, for which they won’t have to pay royalties. With the right combination of content and marketing, it’s as good as free money.

Under the Berne Convention, copyright in published works is the life of the author plus 50 years, although many territories have extend this to life plus 70 years (100 in Mexico!). These periods may be subject to extensions if the executors of literary estates are able to renew the existing copyright (under previous copyright regimes) or by issuing revised editions of existing works which are sufficiently different to the original so as to constitute an entirely separate publication – but these are exceptions.

By allowing copyright to lapse, this should mean key works will always be in print, and even more obscure titles can be revived with little to no production cost. For nearly 20 years, Google Books has been scanning works out of copyright and putting them online. But even this process can run into copyright limitations, and questions of provenance (as illustrated by the treatment of George Orwell’s “1984”). But this has also encouraged some enterprising individuals to sell “reprints” of facsimile copies of scanned titles, when the buyer thought they were purchasing an authentic copy, or a contemporary edition (i.e., newly typeset and printed).

Intellectual property law may be complex, and in need of reform to reflect modern technology and contemporary society. But as copyright works pass into the public domain, there remains the issue of moral rights. These give writers the right to be identified as the author of a work (“attribution”), and to protect their work against inappropriate use (“derogatory treatment”). Moral rights also protect writers against “false attribution” – i.e., a publisher can’t claim a work was written by an author who didn’t actually write it.

Moral rights vary from country to country (e.g., Germany, UK, USA, Australia), but generally do not survive when copyright expires. Which can mean that unscrupulous publishers may feel emboldened to “modify” original texts at will, given some recent examples of key 20th century novels. Surely not what authors and their legacies should be subject to?

Next week: Public Indifference?