Stability AI VP Leaves Company Over Copyright Stance
The head of audio at Stability AI is leaving the company due to the AI developer’s stance on training its generative AI model with copyrighted works. Ed Newton-Rex, former vice president of audio at the company, expressed his disagreement with Stability AI’s opinion and resigned from his role.
Newton-Rex disagreed with Stability AI’s official stance on using copyrighted material in its model training. He pointed to a 22-page comment on generative AI that his former employer submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office, which called the emerging technology “an acceptable, transformative, and socially-beneficial use of existing content that is protected by fair use.”
He argued that today’s generative AI models can be used to create works that compete with the copyrighted works they are trained on, making it unfair use. Mostaque replied to Newton-Rex’s Twitter thread, providing a direct link to the submitted comment.
Generative AI and Copyright Issues
Generative AI refers to AI models that create text, images, music, and video using prompts and drawing from a massive corpus of training material. Copyright has become a central part of the discussion around this technology.
Newton-Rex said fair use laws were not designed with generative AI models in mind and that training models under the fair use doctrine was wrong. He supported generative AI that doesn’t exploit creators by training their models on work without artists’ permission.
Lawsuit Against Stability AI
Since July, Stability AI, Midjourney, and Deviant Art have been involved in a lawsuit against AI image generators based on claims of copyright infringement. A federal judge dismissed most of the claims against Midjourney and Deviant Art but said the lawsuit against Stability AI could move forward.
Newton-Rex reiterated concerns about companies training generative AI models on creators’ works without permission and exploiting creators in a society where creators rely on copyright.
A Call for Change
Newton-Rex concluded by hoping others would speak up against exploiting creators within generative AI companies so that they realize it can’t be a long-term solution.
Hot Take: The Impact of Generative AI on Copyright Laws
This article highlights an important debate within the tech industry regarding how generative AI models are trained using copyrighted works. The departure of Stability AI’s head of audio over this issue underscores the ethical and legal challenges posed by this emerging technology. As generative AI continues to evolve, it’s crucial for companies to consider the rights of creators and ensure fair compensation for their work.
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