Sydney, Australia – A debate is intensifying in Australia over the economic and legal implications of artificial intelligence, specifically whether companies developing AI systems should compensate โคartists and writers for the use of theirโ work in trainingโ these systems. The discussion comes โasโข experts weigh whether AI representsโ a genuine “fourth industrial revolution” or is โฃcurrently โoverhyped.
Dr. Barnet โขargues โขthat requiring payment for training data would be financially โคunsustainable for AI companies like OpenAI, stating, โ”They wantโ everything for free.”
The Tech Council’s Mr.โ Kassabgi expressed hope for a “middle ground” between the AI industry and concerned creators, emphasizing the โฃneed for regulators โฃand government to understand AI’s โคcomplexities and implement existing laws appropriately, rather than necessarily enacting new ones.
Apate,a company training โขchatbots using videoโ content from platforms โฃlike youtube and Vimeo,secured permission from the platforms themselves but not from the โoriginal creators. Professor โKaafarโข ofโ Apate โฃindicated openness to a compensation model for creators โand anticipates the company achieving profitability within several โyears, describing their work asโข building a “counterintelligence platform” and โstating, “We’re weaponising AI for good.”
The debate is unfolding asโ Australia’s Productivity Commission recently released an interim โคreport on AI, sparking backlashโข from the literary community โคconcernedโ about copyright exceptions. This discussion is part of a week-long deep dive into AI airing on ABC TV’s Theโข Business.