Tag: Creative Commons

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Exploring the Relevance of Copyright: Can a Savant Create Original Works Without Criticism?”

Would a savant who has read all the books in a specific library, whether in college or even the Library of Congress, be able to create original works without facing criticism for using knowledge gained from the works of others? That’s a question I pose to you, the readers of this blog. Your understanding of this concept is crucial. How does my hypothetical savant differ from a typical large language model trained on web content?

Copyright law, a crucial aspect of our modern content creation landscape, was initially intended to incentivize authors to produce new works by granting them exclusive rights to their writing for a limited time. This was aimed at advancing the progress of science and learning by ensuring that works are accessible to the public.

The Copyright Act of 1790 gave American authors the exclusive right to print, reprint, or publish their works for 14 years, possibly renewing the protection for another 14 years. This law encouraged authors, artists, and scientists to produce original creations.

Revolutionizing copyright laws to both protect and empower modern content creators while not hindering the capabilities of advanced technologies like Large Language Models (LLMs), would involve a multifaceted approach:

Balancing Interests

Revised laws could strike an equilibrium between protecting original work and fostering innovation. This could be achieved by clearly defining what constitutes fair use, particularly in AI-generated content, and establishing transparent guidelines for attribution and compensation when such technologies use existing copyrighted materials as part of their learning process.

New Licensing Models

Implement licenses that cater specifically to LLMs, allowing them access to copyrighted works under certain conditions without infringing on the rights of original creators. This could involve pay-per-use models or subscriptions for AI developers who use these technologies.

Innovation Incentives

Offer additional protections and benefits for content creators to encourage them to invest time in creating new, innovative works that LLMs can use without legal repercussions—akin to a “digital commons.” These could include tax breaks or grants.

Adaptive Legislation

Laws should be designed to adapt as technology evolves, potentially incorporating AI-driven governance systems that can continuously interpret and apply copyright law based on current technological capabilities and social norms.

Some of the ideas in this post came from using Ollama and the Phi-3:medium model.

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Contemporary AI Ethics – Can We Safeguard Innovation Without Falling into Repetitive Cycles?

Years ago, I watched a TED talk by Larry Lessig about laws that stifle creativity. He made several excellent points in his speech, and it got me thinking about whether we are reaching a critical point in terms of laws regulating the use of generative AI. Recently, I listened to a podcast where the host claimed that there is no truly open-source AI and that, eventually, an incestuous situation could develop due to web scraping to train large language models (LLMs). This could lead to the creation of content by these LLMs and the recreation of content from the content created by the large language models, potentially resulting in a twenty-first-century Tower of Babel.

Do we need to build on the ideas presented in Larry’s influential talk to adapt to the current reality? Will large language models and other forms of artificial intelligence lower the quality of our culture and intelligence, or will they enhance culture and creativity as we’ve seen in the seventeen years since his talk?

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How Creative Commons Licensing Can Help Build Your Brand and Reputation

Creative Commons licensing is an excellent way to share your creations with others while still retaining control over how they are used. There are many benefits to using Creative Commons licensing, some of which we’ll explore in this article.

First and foremost, Creative Commons licensing allows others to use your work without having to ask for permission. This can be especially useful if you want your work to be used in a specific way or for a specific audience. For example, you might want your work to be used for educational purposes or in a nonprofit setting. With Creative Commons licensing, you can specify exactly how your work can be used and under what conditions.

Another benefit of Creative Commons licensing is that it can help you to build your brand and reputation. By allowing others to use your work, you are increasing exposure to your brand and helping to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field. This can be particularly valuable for small businesses or independent creators who are just starting out.

Creative Commons licensing can also help to foster innovation and collaboration. By sharing your work with others, you are providing a platform for others to build upon and improve upon your ideas. This can lead to new innovations and collaborations that might not have been possible otherwise.

Overall, there are many benefits to using Creative Commons licensing. By sharing your work with others and allowing them to use it in a specific way, you can build your brand, foster innovation, and contribute to the greater good of the creative community. So if you’re looking to share your work with others in a meaningful way, consider using Creative Commons licensing as a tool to help you achieve your goals.

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Unlocking Education Through Creative Commons Licensing

Creative Commons Licensing is a way for people to share their creative work with others. It lets people choose how they want to share their work, so that it can be used for things like websites, movies, songs, and books. With Creative Commons, people can choose to give away their work for free, or give people permission to use their work as long as they give credit.

Creative Commons offers a range of licenses that enable creators to share their work with the world. These licenses provide creators with the legal framework to protect their work, while still allowing it to be shared and remixed. The type of license chosen will depend on the creator’s wishes for how the work can be used, as there are different levels of restriction.

The six main Creative Commons licenses are:

1. Attribution (CC BY): This license allows others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon a creator’s work, even for commercial purposes, as long as proper credit is given.

2. Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA): This license is similar to the Attribution license, but requires that any derivatives must also be distributed under the same license.

3. Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC): This license allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon a creator’s work, but only for non-commercial purposes.

4. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA): This license is similar to the Attribution-NonCommercial license, but requires that any derivatives must also be distributed under the same license.

5. Attribution-NoDerivs (CC BY-ND): This license allows for redistribution of the original work, but not any derivatives.

6. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeriv

Educators should use Creative Commons licensing when publishing their work for five main reasons. First, by using Creative Commons licenses, educators give their students and the general public the opportunity to use their work without fear of infringing copyright. Second, Creative Commons licensing can help protect the educator’s work from being used without their permission. Third, Creative Commons licensing helps spread knowledge and resources to those who may not have access to them otherwise. Fourth, educators can benefit from the potential exposure that comes from allowing their work to be used by others. Lastly, Creative Commons licensing helps promote collaboration and the sharing of ideas within the educational community.

Next time you publish consider a Creative Commons license.  Share your work.