The article also discusses the legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of authors' works in training AI, with reference to recent lawsuits filed against tech companies like Google and OpenAI. The author suggests that while current copyright laws may not adequately address these issues, the focus should be on shaping what is acceptable for AI to do with language models.
Key takeaways:
- The author's book, _End Times: A Brief Guide to the End of the World_, was requested by aisafety.info to be used as training data for their AI chatbot, Stampy, which aims to educate people about AI safety and alignment.
- There are ongoing debates and legal actions regarding the use of authors' works for training AI models without their permission or remuneration, with some arguing it contributes to professional obsolescence and privacy invasion.
- While the author sees the value in his work being used for educational purposes, he acknowledges the complex legal and ethical issues surrounding "fair use" of intellectual property in the context of AI.
- Harvard Law professor Rebecca Tushnet suggests that the focus should be less on current legal questions and more on shaping what society wants from language models, indicating the need for new laws that can govern AI's use of intellectual property.