Should AI be allowed to train itself off this column?

If you’re a writer, should AI companies be allowed to use your work to train their models without your permission? This is a matter of concern for many writers – as it is for artists, musicians, and anyone whose work is being harvested by the industry and spewed out as AI glop. It’s not just that it’s a bit galling to think that our work is being ripped off for free: it’s that, in the medium to long term, these large language models, if they can, will put writers out of jobs. (It’s Christmas – feel free to make the obvious jokes in the comments.)

At present, AI companies have shown few scruples in hoovering up any number of copyright works – be they books, paintings, or pieces of music – and using them to train their generative models. They do this – apparently on the basis that it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission – without offering any compensation to the people who made or hold rights in those works.