Authorship in the Age of GenIA
Tags: ai, discuss
Published: 2023-09-05 06:38:22

The emergence of *GenIA* has enabled the generation of content derived mostly from written materials, providing a description that is, to a varying extent, faithful to our desired outcome.

This technology facilitates the generation of diverse forms of content, including text, images, music, videos, and more, all achieved in significantly less time than if we were to undertake these endeavors manually.

Yet, a pertinent question arises: Does our utilization of *GenAI* in the creation of artworks diminish our claim to authorship?


## Creativity and Authenticity

The sentiment of not assuming authorship over content, such as images, can be attributed to the ease with which a single sentence can generate texts, images, songs, videos, and more, with minimal effort on our part. Consequently, this can give rise to a perception that these works lack intrinsic value.

![Painting by Valeria Ushakova from Pexels](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9a89bf49-5620-4027-9dc1-9d4d47ffdfb9_640x960.jpeg)

Creating content through machines appears effortless, seemingly devoid of the artist's or creator's personal investment. In contrast, traditional artistic mediums like painting entail the use of brushes, paints, canvases, along with time and the painter's skill, all of which contribute to the inherent worth of the artwork. Similarly, a writer's experiences, vocabulary, and unique sentence construction in a book enrich the final product with a perceived and acknowledged value. Musicians too infuse their songs with their distinct essence, and this principle extends to all creators of visual content.

There exists a concern that this paradigm might depreciate the effort and creative process that authors put into shaping their work, or the unique journey undertaken by some to bring forth something truly exceptional.


## GenAI's Creative Journey

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can create a wide variety of data, such as images, videos, audio, text, and 3D models. It does this by learning patterns from existing data, then using this knowledge to generate new and unique outputs. *GenAI* is capable of producing highly realistic and complex content that mimics human creativity, making it a valuable tool for many industries such as gaming, entertainment, and product design. 

Recent breakthroughs in the field, such as *GPT* (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and *Midjourney*, have significantly advanced the capabilities of *GenAI*. These advancements have opened up new possibilities for using *GenAI* to solve complex problems, create art, and even assist in scientific research.

![ChatGPT by Airam Dato-on from Pexels](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8859db9a-602a-40b9-90b0-327851d80a60_640x960.jpeg)

Humans interact with *GenAI* to generate new content by providing input data and setting parameters for the AI to follow. The creators of *GenAI* systems design them to mimic the creative process of humans by exploring different combinations of inputs and outputs until they reach an optimal solution. This enables them to generate more sophisticated results than traditional methods would have been able to produce. 

According to *[Humans In The GenAI Loop](https://www.forbes.com/sites/sylvainduranton/2023/03/27/humans-in-the-genai-loop/)*, humans are still required to oversee the output of *GenAI*, even though it can generate content and code at a blinding pace. Generative AI coding assistants like *GitHub’s CoPilot* and *Amazon’s CodeWhisperer* are just that, assistants working in concert with experienced coders who can correct their mistakes or pick the best option among a handful of coding. 


## Who's the Author?

It's crucial to highlight that the issue of who should be considered the author of content produced by *GenAI* remains highly uncertain and contentious. A recent legal ruling in the United States has added to the confusion by suggesting that copyright protection may not apply when there's no discernible human author involved. However, the core question of whether the creative outputs generated by *GenAI* can be attributed to human authorship remains unresolved.

This legal ruling in the U.S. brings attention to the intricate challenge of determining authorship in cases where AI systems independently generate content. While the ruling seems to underscore the importance of human involvement in creative processes, it doesn't definitively address the complexities that arise when artificial intelligence algorithms autonomously produce text, images, music, or other forms of artistic expression.

The ongoing debate surrounding this issue encompasses a range of aspects, including ethical, legal, and philosophical considerations. There are questions about the level of creative autonomy AI possesses and the degree to which human input influences the final result. Additionally, there are concerns about how AI's capabilities might impact the recognition of genuine human creativity.


## Conclusion

Human evolution has been marked by transformative innovations that simplify complex processes. One such milestone was Gutenberg's printing press, introduced in the 15th century. It automated the reproduction of written content, making it possible to generate a significantly larger volume of books and documents in much less time. This invention democratized knowledge, contributing to the Renaissance and the spread of ideas.

Another significant advancement was the telegraph, emerging in the 19th century. It revolutionized long-distance communication by eliminating the need for physical messengers and horseback travel, enabling messages to be transmitted across vast distances instantly. The telegraph laid the foundation for modern communication systems, reshaping fields like business, journalism, and diplomacy. Both innovations highlight humanity's remarkable capacity to simplify and enhance processes through ingenuity and technological progress.

![Printing press by Hannes Wolf from Unsplash.jpg](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb284dfa2-cab9-42e4-9ff5-d4cf1c4ac15d_640x426.jpeg)

In my view, *GenAI* represents another significant step forward in the ongoing evolution of human capabilities, akin to the numerous innovations that have shaped our history. It's important to understand that *GenAI* functions as a tool at our disposal, but it necessitates human oversight. This means that individuals remain responsible for verifying the results generated by *GenAI* and ensuring that the content it produces meets appropriate standards.

The value of *GenAI* lies in its ability to empower a wider range of people to create content that might have otherwise been inaccessible to them due to either a lack of specific skills or limited means of self-expression. Think about the impact of various tools that enable individuals to convey their emotions, ideas, and creativity through mediums like images, audio, video, or text. *GenAI* significantly expands these possibilities, offering new avenues for people to express themselves.

In essence, *GenAI*, like previous inventions, signifies a crucial milestone in our ongoing quest for more accessible and diverse forms of expression and communication. It not only democratizes content creation but also enriches the ways individuals can share their thoughts, emotions, and creative visions with the world.

> ***Who claims authorship of creations or works that have arisen from individuals expressing their ideas through words and transformed into text, images, sound, or video by technology?***


## References

- *Generative AI: https://www.bcg.com/capabilities/artificial-intelligence/generative-ai*
- *Humans In The GenAI Loop: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sylvainduranton/2023/03/27/humans-in-the-genai-loop/*
- *Demystifying GenAI: What’s hype, what’s real, and what does it mean for you?: https://www.dell.com/en-us/perspectives/demystifying-gen-ai-what-s-hype-what-s-real-and-what-does-it-mean-for-you/*
- *Court Says No Human Author, No Copyright (But Human Authorship Of GenAI Outputs Remains Uncertain): https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/copyright/1358784/court-says-no-human-author-no-copyright-but-human-authorship-of-genai-outputs-remains-uncertain*
- *Airam Dato-on from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/es-es/@airamdphoto/*
- *Valeria Ushakova from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/es-es/@valeria-ushakova-603898/*
- *Hannes Wolf from Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/es/@hannes_wolf*