Microsoft's AI chief says 'content on the open web is freeware,' emphasizing the idea that it's okay to use web content for AI training



Mustafa Suleiman, co-founder of

DeepMind, an AI startup acquired by Google , and CEO of Microsoft AI, Microsoft's AI development division at the time of writing, has confessed that he believes that the moment content is published on the open web, it becomes ' freeware ' that anyone can freely copy and use. Technology media The Verge has criticized him for having a 'misguided idea.'

Microsoft's AI boss thinks it's perfectly OK to steal content if it's on the open web - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/28/24188391/microsoft-ai-suleyman-social-contract-freeware



During the Aspen Ideas Festival , which began on June 23, 2024, a talk event was held in which journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin and CEO Suleiman discussed the future of AI.

During the talk, Sorkin pointed out that 'AI companies are, in effect, stealing the world's intellectual property.' Suleiman then shared his thoughts on content on the open web, saying, 'I think that since the 1990s, the social contract for content that's already on the open web has been that it's fair use. Anyone can copy it, recreate it, reproduce it. It's been understood as 'freeware.''




Microsoft, along with its long-term partner OpenAI, is being sued by newspapers, authors and others for 'stealing copyrighted online content to train AI models.'

OpenAI and Microsoft sued by author for copyright infringement over AI - GIGAZINE



Microsoft and OpenAI sued by eight newspapers for copyright infringement - GIGAZINE



Therefore, 'It may not be surprising that Microsoft's AI chief would make such a statement, but I didn't think he would be so openly wrong,' The Verge pointed out. Furthermore, 'In the United States, a work is automatically protected by copyright the moment it is created , so there is no need to apply somewhere to obtain copyright, and publishing it on the web does not invalidate the rights. Also, it is so difficult to give up copyright that lawyers had to devise a special web license .'



He also said that 'fair use is not a social contract, but a legal defense recognized by courts that allows some use of copyrighted material after determining what, why, how much, and whether it will cause harm to the copyright owner,' pointing out that CEO Suleiman's view of fair use is wrong.

'Many AI companies claim that using copyrighted content for training is fair use, but no one has made such a bold claim as CEO Suleiman,' The Verge pointed out.

You can check out the full interview between Sorkin and CEO Suleiman in the video below.

CEO of Microsoft AI speaks about the future of artificial intelligence at Aspen Ideas Festival - YouTube


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in Software,   Video, Posted by logu_ii