The Crooked Brush: Against the Privatisation of Post-AI Creativity

Copyright is in trouble. If people can just use AI to mine out creativity, then those with the most computation can own the most IP. Luckily, judges worldwide are denying ownership of AI-generated creativity … without any way of knowing what has been made with AI and what hasn’t. In fact, innovative new forms of infinite and interactive creativity are possible – all of which confound traditional ownership. Yet, just as copyright frameworks worldwide are being confused, artists are arguing for stricter copyright. But would that actually save them, or are they fighting someone else’s battle?

Legal scholar, musician and filmmaker Zachary Cooper explains the controversial history of creative ownership and control, exposes the dysfunction of the present moment, and exhibits how powerful legacy rightsholders and historically-valued AI startups are battling it out (and cutting deals) for control over the future of creative production.