If your work is part of a generative AI licensing agreement, it could be used for:
- Training and testing the foundational models that are then used to create, for example, personal assistant and chatbot tools or discoverability summaries.
- As part of banks of authoritative content that are used, on a perpetual basis, to check and verify the accuracy of information provided by AI tools.
Benefits of this licensing to authors
- Publishers can monetize their archives and content by AI companies paying them to use it to train their LLMs.
- It may improve the quality and accuracy of tools that are increasingly going to be used in everyday life.
- There may also be opportunities for your content to have greater visibility and impact if it is properly cited and attributed by AI tools.
Authors' concerns
The letter by SOA Policy Team (August 2024) states:
“Our members have instructed us to put you on express notice that they do not authorise or otherwise grant permission for the use of any of their copyright-protected works in relation to, without limitation, the training; development; or operation of AI models (including the generation of Infringing Works), by large language models or other generative AI models, unless they have first specifically agreed licensing arrangements for the use of their work.” It warns that this “continues to cause great harm to creators’ livelihoods and jeopardizes the future of the profession, which in turn threatens our creative industries and our cultural capital”. [4]
- author attribution
- the creation of formal licensing arrangements to govern content
- obtaining permissions from rights holders
- obtaining fair remuneration for the use of content.
Overall, the evolving landscape of publishing in relation to generative AI presents both opportunities and challenges for authors and publishers alike. with the licensing of academic content between publishers and these tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and Open AI, etc, there is a clear potential for monetization and enhanced visibility for authors' works. However, the concerns surrounding authors' rights and compensation cannot be ignored. Many authors express anger with the existing practices, feeling their contributions are exploited without proper recognition or remuneration.
Organizations such as the Society of Authors and the Creative Rights Alliance are advocating for transparent licensing agreements that respect authors’ rights and ensure fair compensation. Meanwhile, publishers like Cambridge University Press are adopting an "opt-in" approach, prioritizing author consent and establishing principles for ethical licensing.
As the discussions around AI and copyright continues to evolve, it is very important for all stakeholders—authors, publishers, and tech companies to collaborate in creating a framework that protects the rights and prestige of authors. Finding a balance between the advantages of AI in making research more accessible and the need to respect authors' work is essential for the future of publishing in the age of artificial intelligence.
Reference
- 1. Has your paper been used to train an AI model? Almost certainly (nature.com)
- 2. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/sage-confirms-it-is-in-talks-to-license-content-to-ai-firms
- 3. https://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2024/05/cambridge-university-press-now-asking-authors-whether-they-want-to-license-their-publications-for-ll.html
- 4. The Society of Authors writes to tech companies asserting members’ rights around uses of their works by generative AI - The Society of Authors
- 5. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/creators-demand-immediate-change-from-companies-developing-ai-after-unlawful-use-of-content
- 6. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/academic-authors-shocked-after-taylor--francis-sells-access-to-their-research-to-microsoft-ai
- 7. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/sage-confirms-it-is-in-talks-to-license-content-to-ai-firms
- 8. The Bookseller - News - IPG 2024 Autumn Conference dominated by AI and licensing discussions
- 9. https://infogram.com/1p9g1kvndzqkrkt7523yd02wk3b3grmm9mw?live&utm_campaign=LLM+Comms&utm_medium=bitly&utm_source=Email
- 10. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/sage-confirms-it-is-in-talks-to-license-content-to-ai-firms
- 11. Open-access expansion threatens academic publishing industry (insidehighered.com)
- 12. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/wiley-set-to-earn-44m-from-ai-rights-deals-confirms-no-opt-out-for-authors
- 13. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/society-of-authors-writes-to-ai-firms-demanding-appropriate-remuneration-and-consent-for-authors
- 14. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/anthropic-sued-by-us-authors-over-use-of-pirated-books-to-train-ai-chatbot
- 15. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/taylor-francis-set-to-make-58m-from-ai-in-2024-as-it-reveals-second-partnership
- 16. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02599-9