AI Services and the use of Copyrighted Content without authorisation...can they be 'untrained'?

ChatGPT: If copyrighted content has been used to train an AI service, it may not be possible to completely "untrain" the AI relevant to the content that has been used illegally

Question 1 of 2 for AI Services: Should a judge decide that Artificial Intelligence Services can only use copyrighted content for training, content creation or content enrichment with permission of rights owners, but the unauthorized use has already taken place, just how could Artificial Intelligence Services repair or otherwise compensate for this situation? List the options the AI Services would have to make up for this.

ChatGPT’s answer:
If a judge has ruled that an Artificial Intelligence (AI) service can only use copyrighted content with the permission of rights owners, but the AI service has already used the content without authorization, there are several options available for the AI service to repair or compensate for the situation:

1. Obtain retroactive permission: The AI service can seek permission from the rights owners after the fact and negotiate terms of use and compensation. This would require a legal agreement and a willingness on the part of the rights owners to grant permission.

2. Remove the unauthorized content: If possible, the AI service can remove the unauthorized content from its systems and databases. This would help ensure that the content is no longer being used improperly.

3. Pay damages: The AI service can offer to pay damages to the rights owners for the unauthorized use of their content. The amount of damages would depend on the extent of the unauthorized use and the severity of the infringement.

4. Develop alternative training data: If the unauthorized content was being used for training purposes, the AI service can develop alternative training data that does not infringe on copyrights. This would require the AI service to identify and obtain new training data that is both relevant and legally permissible.

5. Implement new policies and procedures: The AI service can implement new policies and procedures to ensure that it complies with copyright laws and obtains proper permissions for all content used in its systems. This could include new procedures for vetting and licensing content, as well as training for employees on copyright compliance.

Overall, the best course of action for an AI service that has used copyrighted content without permission would be to seek legal counsel and work with the rights owners to find a solution that is mutually beneficial and complies with all applicable laws and regulations.

Google Bard’s answer:
There are a number of ways that AI Services could repair or compensate for unauthorized use of copyrighted content. Some of these options include:

• Removing the unauthorized content from their systems. This would involve identifying and deleting any copyrighted content that was used without permission.

• Paying damages to the copyright owners. This would involve compensating the copyright owners for any losses they suffered as a result of the unauthorized use of their content.

• Obtaining permission to use the copyrighted content. This would involve reaching an agreement with the copyright owners to allow the AI Service to use their content legally.

• Developing their own content. This would involve creating new content that is not copyrighted, so that they do not need to rely on copyrighted content from other sources.

The specific option that an AI Service would choose would depend on the specific circumstances of the case. For example, if the unauthorized use of copyrighted content was minor, the AI Service might be able to simply remove the content from their systems. However, if the unauthorized use was more serious, the AI Service might need to pay damages to the copyright owners or obtain permission to use their content.

It is important to note that the law in this area is still developing, so it is possible that new options for repairing or compensating for unauthorized use of copyrighted content will be developed in the future.

Bing Chat’s answer:
That’s a complex and interesting question. According to some sources, some possible options that AI Services would have to make up for the unauthorized use of copyrighted content are:

• Licensing: The AI Services could obtain licenses from the rights owners to use their content for training, content creation or content enrichment purposes. This could be done retroactively or prospectively, depending on the terms of the license agreement. Licensing could also involve paying royalties or fees to the rights owners for the use of their content.

• Removal: The AI Services could remove the infringing content from their platforms, databases, and outputs. This could include deleting or blocking access to the content that was generated by using the unauthorized content, as well as deleting or blocking access to the unauthorized content itself from the training data.

• Attribution: The AI Services could provide proper attribution to the rights owners for the use of their content. This could include displaying the names, sources, and links of the original content creators, as well as indicating which parts of the generated content are derived from or influenced by the original content.

• Compensation: The AI Services could pay damages or compensation to the rights owners for the harm caused by the infringement. This could include compensatory damages for the loss of profits or market share, statutory damages for willful infringement, or punitive damages for bad faith or malicious conduct.

• Settlement: The AI Services could negotiate a settlement with the rights owners to resolve the dispute out of court. This could involve agreeing on any of the above options, as well as other terms such as confidentiality, non-disclosure, or non-disparagement clauses.

These options are not mutually exclusive and may depend on various factors such as the nature and extent of the infringement, the availability and validity of defenses such as fair use or public domain, and the preferences and interests of both parties.

Question 2 of 2 for AI Services: If the copyrighted content has been used to train an AI Service, e.g. to enhance its neural network capabilities, can such an AI be 'untrained' relevant to the content that has been used illegally?

ChatGPT’s answer:
If copyrighted content has been used to train an AI service, it may not be possible to completely "untrain" the AI relevant to the content that has been used illegally. This is because the AI's neural network has been trained on a specific set of data, which includes the copyrighted content that was used without permission. Removing this content from the AI's training data may not be straightforward and could have unintended consequences on the AI's performance.

However, there are some techniques that may be used to mitigate the impact of the illegally used copyrighted content on the AI's training. One approach is to retrain the AI using alternative data that does not include the copyrighted content. This would involve obtaining new data and retraining the AI's neural network from scratch. While this may be time-consuming and expensive, it would ensure that the AI is not relying on illegally used copyrighted content in its decision-making processes.

Another approach is to use techniques such as regularization or pruning to reduce the impact of the illegally used copyrighted content on the AI's training. Regularization is a technique that can help to prevent the AI from overfitting to the training data, which may include the copyrighted content. Pruning involves removing certain connections between neurons in the AI's neural network, which can help to reduce the influence of specific data points in the training data, such as the copyrighted content.

Ultimately, the effectiveness of these techniques will depend on the specific AI and the extent to which the copyrighted content has been used in its training. In any case, it is important for the AI service to take steps to ensure that it is not using copyrighted content without permission in the future, in order to avoid any further legal or ethical issues.

Google Bard’s answer:
Whether or not an AI can be "untrained" relevant to the content that has been used illegally is a complex legal question. There is no clear answer, and the answer may depend on a number of factors, including the specific type of AI, the type of copyrighted content that was used, and the laws of the jurisdiction in which the AI was trained.

In general, it is possible to "untrain" an AI by removing the copyrighted content from its training data. However, this may not be possible in all cases. For example, if the copyrighted content was used to create a neural network, it may be difficult or impossible to remove the content without damaging the network.

In some cases, it may be possible to retrain an AI on different data. This may be a more feasible option than removing the copyrighted content from the training data. However, it is important to note that retraining an AI can be a time-consuming and expensive process.

The best way to determine whether or not an AI can be "untrained" relevant to the content that has been used illegally is to consult with an attorney who is familiar with copyright law.

Here are some additional points to consider:

• The law in this area is still developing, so it is possible that new options for "untraining" AIs will be developed in the future.

• The copyright owner may have other legal remedies available to them, such as suing for damages.

• The AI Service may be able to negotiate a settlement with the copyright owner.

Ultimately, the best way to avoid legal problems is to obtain permission from the copyright owner before using their content.

Bing Chat’s answer:
That’s another complex and interesting question. According to some sources, it may be possible to ‘untrain’ an AI neural network relevant to the content that has been used illegally, but it may not be easy or effective. Some possible methods are:

• Pruning: This method involves removing some of the connections or neurons in the neural network that are related to the illegal content. This could reduce the size and complexity of the network, as well as its memory and computational requirements. However, pruning could also affect the performance and accuracy of the network, as well as its ability to generalize to new data.

• Re-training: This method involves re-training the neural network with a different set of data that does not include the illegal content. This could change the weights and biases of the network, as well as its output and behavior. However, re-training could also require a large amount of time and resources, as well as a suitable and sufficient alternative data set.

• Regularization: This method involves adding some constraints or penalties to the neural network that discourage it from using or relying on the illegal content. This could reduce the overfitting and variance of the network, as well as its sensitivity to noise and outliers. However, regularization could also increase the underfitting and bias of the network, as well as its error rate and loss function.

These methods are not mutually exclusive and may depend on various factors such as the architecture and design of the neural network, the type and amount of the illegal content, and the desired outcome and objective of the ‘untraining’ process.