The firm also warned that undermining the expectation of free use of copyrighted content could jeopardize future investment, U.S. economic competitiveness, and national security. A16z suggested that instead of making new laws addressing AI, the USCO should embrace the technology. The firm also noted that payment for copyrighted material used in AI could cost companies tens or hundreds of billions of dollars annually in royalty payments, potentially shutting out smaller startups from the development race.
Key takeaways:
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has warned that billions of dollars in AI investments could be devalued if companies are forced to pay for copyrighted data used in AI development.
- The VC firm argues that the "only practical way" to train large language models is through the use of large amounts of copyrighted content and data, and that imposing copyright liability on AI creators will significantly hamper their development.
- A16z has invested in many AI companies based on the expectation that copyrighted content will remain available as training data through "fair use," without any payment required.
- The firm also warned that undermining these expectations could jeopardize future investment, U.S. economic competitiveness, and national security.