Fav AI outcome out there...

[BTM_Pix]

On 6/5/2025 at 7:38 PM, Emanuel said:

This isn’t about violating copyright

I don’t know how you can say that with a straight face.

The BFI have just published a report saying that 130,000 films and scripts have been used without permission or accreditation.

It is all about violating copyright.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/09/ai-plundering-scripts-poses-direct-threat-to-uk-screen-sector-says-bfi

[eatstoomuchjam]

I'm not aware of any existing generative AI model that could be even remotely considered to be ethical in its construction and any of use of the generated results should be considered generally unethical.  Any use of Generative AI is using an unprecedented amount of stolen material.

The AI companies even admit as much, saying that being obliged to require permission from the rights holders to use their existing content would be fatal to their business model.

It's like a thief saying that the invention of locked doors presented an existential threat to their business model.

 

And keep in mind that the end game for most/all of these AI companies is not to make your life better unless you are one of the huge businesses that are financing their development or a totalitarian government.

[Emanuel]

5 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I don’t know how you can say that with a straight face.

The BFI have just published a report saying that 130,000 films and scripts have been used without permission or accreditation.

It is all about violating copyright.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/09/ai-plundering-scripts-poses-direct-threat-to-uk-screen-sector-says-bfi

We’re clearly not talking about the same thing. There’s obviously no need to use AI to violate copyright, that’s not its only purpose! That’s exactly the point I was making.

Stolen scripts? I’ve seen that happening since the ’90s (when I started to work in this business, with Elias Querejeta as professional script reader FYI), a long time before AI ever came into the picture.

Has this technology made things worse? I wouldn’t be surprised. I fully share that concern, in any case. Honestly, there’s nothing new here.

And yup, it’s a high price to pay for adopting this kind of technology indeed.

 

4 hours ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

I'm not aware of any existing generative AI model that could be even remotely considered to be ethical in its construction and any of use of the generated results should be considered generally unethical.  Any use of Generative AI is using an unprecedented amount of stolen material.

If we’re using our own stuff, then nothing is being stolen.

 

The meaning up there (@my posts) is very clear:

AI is just a tool. The use of it is something else, though so yeah, what you’re saying fits too.

 

But that’s not really the point I am making.

It’s the usual tone in these kinds of discussions: always about taking sides. WOW We have to pick a side or risk being seen as a minor part of the picture. And if we don’t explicitly state our stance, we risk no longer being seen as part of our own group : P or being taken as pure thieves!! Phew...

 

If people prefer to see things in B&W, they shouldn’t blame the world we live all in, later on. I’m done with binary thinking, always have been BTW. 

And I’m not here pretending my dick’s bigger than anyone’s. Everything you wrote, I stand. I don't retract a single word of mine up there either... What about that? ;- )

[KnightsFan]

If you think that it is unethical to copy a commercial movie and personally sell those copies without the permission of the movie's owner, then it's hard to imagine how it could be ethical to use that same movie to train a model that is then sold without the permission of that movie's owner.

[Emanuel]

Of course but don't forget the prior discussion brought to the previous page about the whole case of the history of this medium, no less...

And yes, AI is clearly a space where copyright violations make it even harder to protect original work. My point is, this problem didn’t start with AI... not even close.

Here's a blatant example: the original work (years in the making!) of a close associate and business partner of mine has been stolen by... Hollywood! : X 

Go figure...

And it has nothing to do with AI.

Does that strike a chord? ; )

Now imagine how real thieves are using this technology today. This isn’t a simple problem... it goes far beyond AI. At its core, it’s about a lack of ethics, shady alliances, and the pursuit of profit with no respect for others’ work.

Let’s be clear: this didn’t start with AI. In the worst-case scenario, the introduction of this new technology can only make things worse.

In my country, people are used to saying something like this, although pessimists are also often seen as realists: «An optimist sees opportunity in every challenge; a pessimist sees a problem in every chance.»

Unfortunately, I guess we could replace it here (not only for the things discussed in this thread but also for others) with:

Where goodwill finds a chance, the thief finds a catch.™

(not stolen anywhere... : D this line is copyrighted right now LOL ;- )

 

 

[KnightsFan]

There's a pretty big difference between one person stealing a screenplay or synopsis, and scraping the entire internet to make a generalized tool that billions of people use daily. Both can be unethical, but it's a few orders of magnitude difference in how many people it harms and to what degree.

I believe that we should create technology for its own sake. I don't want to halt AI progress. There just needs to be a way to ensure that it benefits all people, particularly the people who (unwillingly/unknowingly) contributed to creating the models.