Training AI models on copyrighted works is "squarely what transformative use is," EFF’s Tori Noble told Reason - these are "general purpose tools" and "exactly the kind of creation that copyright is designed to foster.” https://reason.com/2026/09/04/doj-says-barring-ai-training-on-copyrighted-material-could-severely-hamper-tech-progress/
If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to cancel any donations to these libertarian tech bros.
Artists who are employed or do contract work are often hired because someone is trying to make money off something that makes use of their work, and their ability to make money off that often depends on copyright. So it’s still ultimately a dependency on copyright, just with one layer of separation in between.
That leaves artists who make an income from doing some kind of performance, like concerts or plays. I guess that doesn’t really require copyright, but it’s a pretty limited subset of artists for whom this is possible.
Software developers, graphics artists, window painters, live musicians, session musicians, photographers and cinematographers, copy writers, florists, chocolatiers, dancers, interior decorators, animators, chefs, composers, and virtually every other kind of artist would still have a job in a world without copyright protection. If your art isn’t being mass produced, it’s not really relevant.
Sure, someone is going to need to write the firmware for the machinery in factories regardless of copyright protections, but who’s going hire animators if they can’t sell the final product or monetise it in any way without immediately competing against their own work? People who make commercials? Real bright future you’re depicting there.
But more importantly, aren’t you forgetting something fundamental here?
I’d rather not live in a world where art is economically unviable.
This is not just about the artists, it’s also about me. And by me, I mean everyone, including artists, because they don’t just create art. Most of the art I enjoy is mass-produced: books are, films are, video games are. If those become economically unviable in the current economic system, then my art appreciation would basically become occasionally going to a concert or museum, and going through humanity’s backlog of works. Certainly, that backlog is large enough for many lifetimes, but while Cold War analogies are still relevant to some extent, it sure would be nice to enjoy something that speaks of today every now and then.
Artists who are employed or do contract work are often hired because someone is trying to make money off something that makes use of their work, and their ability to make money off that often depends on copyright. So it’s still ultimately a dependency on copyright, just with one layer of separation in between.
That leaves artists who make an income from doing some kind of performance, like concerts or plays. I guess that doesn’t really require copyright, but it’s a pretty limited subset of artists for whom this is possible.
Software developers, graphics artists, window painters, live musicians, session musicians, photographers and cinematographers, copy writers, florists, chocolatiers, dancers, interior decorators, animators, chefs, composers, and virtually every other kind of artist would still have a job in a world without copyright protection. If your art isn’t being mass produced, it’s not really relevant.
Sure, someone is going to need to write the firmware for the machinery in factories regardless of copyright protections, but who’s going hire animators if they can’t sell the final product or monetise it in any way without immediately competing against their own work? People who make commercials? Real bright future you’re depicting there.
But more importantly, aren’t you forgetting something fundamental here?
This is not just about the artists, it’s also about me. And by me, I mean everyone, including artists, because they don’t just create art. Most of the art I enjoy is mass-produced: books are, films are, video games are. If those become economically unviable in the current economic system, then my art appreciation would basically become occasionally going to a concert or museum, and going through humanity’s backlog of works. Certainly, that backlog is large enough for many lifetimes, but while Cold War analogies are still relevant to some extent, it sure would be nice to enjoy something that speaks of today every now and then.