“Tech Giant Executive Quits Over Dispute About Copyrighted Data for AI Training”
The controversy over whether tech giants should pay for the copyrighted data used to train their AI models has taken a dramatic turn this week. Ed Newton-Rex, the head of audio at Stability AI, resigned from the company after it argued that it should not have to pay creators for using their work to train its AI models.
The situation has implications for the broader AI sector, with billions of dollars potentially at stake. AI models such as ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion are trained using large amounts of data scraped from the internet, including art, song lyrics, and books. This has led to legal battles with artists and creators who claim their work is being used without permission, sometimes leading to the creation of new content that competes with the original works.
Newton-Rex’s resignation, along with the comments of other experts, suggests that the debate over the ethical and legal use of copyrighted data for AI training is reaching a critical point. The controversy has gained the attention of the US Copyright Office, which is considering new rules for generative AI. Major tech firms like Meta and Google have expressed disagreement with Newton-Rex’s stance, warning of potential financial hardships for the industry if they are required to pay for the data their models run on.
Despite the legal arguments in favor of using copyrighted material for training AI models, experts like Giorgio Franceschelli argue that it may be ethical wrong. They claim that training models using copyrighted material is solely for the benefit of the companies, without proper compensation to the creators.
The resignation of Newton-Rex and the growing debate among experts and insiders in the generative AI field suggests that a pivotal moment is approaching for the industry. As the discussion continues, it remains to be seen how it will impact the future of AI development, and whether other individuals within the industry will speak out about similar concerns. Business Insider reached out to Stability AI for comment on the issue, but they did not immediately respond.