Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way we interact with technology, making our lives more convenient and efficient. The emergence of several Natural Language Processing (NLP) models such as Microsoft’s Chat GPT and Google’s Bard has introduced a novel enigma regarding authorship of the content generated by such AI systems.
As AI becomes more sophisticated, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between content created by humans and that generated by machines. If an individual uses Chat GPT to produce written content, who owns the resulting text? Is the person who used the algorithm to generate the text the author, or is the ‘AI’ itself the author? In this article, we explore the current state of large language models, including Chat GPT, and delve into the possibilities and challenges of their future development. Additionally, we examine the ethical considerations that must be addressed as they evolve.
Across the globe, the debate concerning legal recognition of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a creator of work has developed remarkably. Recently, The Indian Copyright Office granted an AI, RAGHAV (Robust Artificial Intelligent Graphics and Art Visualiser), the status of co-author alongside Mr. Ankit Sahni for a painting titled “Suryast”. However, soon the Copyright Office sent a withdrawal notice to Mr. Sahni, rectifying the office’s mistake as granting Co-authorship status to an AI entity is not explicitly supported by Indian Copyright Act.
Copyright authorship is ruled by Section 2(d) (iii) and Section 2(d)(vi) of the 1957 Copyright Act, This act states that anybody who is an artist will be considered as an author, If he/she caused the artistic work to be created. However, A recent parliamentary report on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) suggests that “the existing Copyright Act is not equipped to facilitate authorship and ownership to an AI; therefore, there is an urgent need to revisit this.”
On the other hand, if an individual uses Chat GPT to generate text, it can be argued that the resulting text is a product of their input and decisions. They may have inputted specific prompts or guidelines for the algorithm to follow, they may have made editorial decisions regarding the final output. In this sense, it could be argued that the person who used Chat GPT to generate text caused the work to be created and thus he/she is the author. The United States has tackled similar situations earlier in which it declared many AI-generated works requiring human intervention to be granted copyright registration. While, Saudi Arabia claims to be the first country to have granted citizenship to an AI driven Robot.
Given these challenges, it is likely that the questions of ownership and authorship will become increasingly important in the coming years. The Global market of Natural Language Processing (NLP) softwares in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $15.7 billion in 2022 and is poised to reach $49.4 billion by 2027, marking the growth at 25.7%. While, these data are both pleasant and jarring at the same time. As the development of these technologies requires careful consideration of the ethical and societal implications. It is now up to lawmakers, scholars, and the broader public to determine how best to address these cropped up issues.