AI and IP Rights

I don’t want to be an AI bore but it’s here isn’t it, and there are questions to be answered. While publishers launch legal battles over AI systems being trained on their intellectual property I am concerned with smaller questions. It’s no secret that AI does not create, it plagiarizes so AI work cannot be considered original and unique, so I cannot claim IP ownership of anything it produces for me.

But that got me wondering, what about the prompt it used? Let’s say that I wanted to write a short story about a man tinnitus discovering that the buzzing sound that had haunted him his entire life was actually the ghost of a bumblebee that he trapped in a draw thirty years earlier. I don’t have time to write this story myself, I’ve got washing up to do, but I could put the idea, my idea, I own the IP on the story idea, into AI. What would the legal standing be then? It’s my story. If I used AI to calculate my taxes, it’s still my taxes.

I wouldn’t do this of course. I know that even my worst output on a very bad day is still better than AI, but curiosity got the better of me at the exact moment that I needed a block text to test the twitter character limit on my verified account. I haven’t even read this myself, but if the movie rights were ever in question, they are undoubtedly mine.

Can you write a short ghost story, 3000 words, about a man suffering since childhood with tinnitus, learning to his horror that the buzzing sound he’d heard his entire life was the ghostly cries of a ghost bee that tied after being deliberately trapped in a desk drawer.
My prompt

The Buzzing of the Bumblebee

The buzzing sound had been with him for as long as he could remember. It was a high-pitched whine that never seemed to go away, no matter what he did. He had seen doctors, tried different medications, and even tried meditation, but nothing seemed to help.

The man’s name was John, and he was 35 years old. He had lived with tinnitus his entire life, and he had learned to just ignore it. But lately, it had been getting worse. The buzzing sound was louder and more persistent, and it was starting to interfere with his work and his personal life.

One day, John was working in his office when he heard a strange noise. It was a high-pitched whine, just like his tinnitus, but it was coming from somewhere outside his head. John got up and went to investigate, and he found the source of the noise in a desk drawer.

Inside the drawer was a dead bee. The bee was small and black, and it was covered in dust. John had no idea how the bee had gotten in the drawer, but he was sure that it was the source of his tinnitus.

John took the bee out of the drawer and examined it. The bee’s stinger was still intact, and John could see that it had been crushed. He realized that the bee had been trapped in the drawer and had died of starvation.

John felt a pang of guilt. He knew that he should have let the bee out of the drawer, but he had forgotten about it. Now, the bee’s ghost was haunting him.

John tried to get rid of the bee’s ghost, but it was no use. The buzzing sound continued, and it seemed to get louder and louder. John started to have trouble sleeping, and he was always on edge. He was afraid that the bee’s ghost would drive him crazy.

One night, John was so tired that he fell asleep in his office. He dreamed that he was back in his childhood home, and he was playing in the backyard. He saw the bee, and he tried to warn it not to go into the desk drawer. But the bee didn’t listen, and it was trapped.

John woke up in a cold sweat. He knew that he had to do something to stop the bee’s ghost. He went back to the desk drawer and took out the bee. He buried the bee in the backyard, and he said a prayer for the bee’s soul.

The next day, the buzzing sound was gone. John was finally able to get some peace and quiet. He knew that he would never forget the bee, but he was glad that its ghost was finally at rest.

John’s story is a reminder that even the smallest creatures can have a big impact on our lives. The bee’s ghost may have been annoying, but it was also a reminder of John’s own mortality. The bee had died, but John was still alive. He had a chance to make a difference in the world, and he was determined to do so.

John went on to live a long and happy life. He never forgot the bee, and he always made sure to let any trapped insects go free. He knew that even the smallest act of kindness could make a big difference.

25/07/2023 0

Say what Bard?

Anyone blindly using AI to inform themselves or pass off knowledge and wisdom as their own needs to steady their steeds.

This very morning I spotted a post on twitter raising Population Collapse as a major risk to the future of civilisation. A quote, I believe, attributable to Elon Musk. I’ve been aware of population pyramids since I attended high school in the Eighties, and the economic impact of the cessation of perpetual growth, but is this really a problem for civilisation as a whole?

It was the plague in England, after all, that released the poorest from indentured labour, and a huge drop in available workers led to an increase in the value of their labour. The plague itself was terrible, but life was measurably better for those who came after, than it was before.

So rather than brush up on the evidence myself, I turned to AI to do the intellectual grunt work.

Prompt: What are the dangers of population collapse?

Population collapse is a serious problem that can have a number of negative consequences for a society. Some of the dangers of population collapse include:
Economic decline: A shrinking workforce can lead to a decline in economic productivity. This can make it difficult to maintain a strong economy and provide for the needs of the population.
Social instability: A declining population can lead to social instability. This is because a smaller population means fewer people to support the social fabric. This can lead to an increase in crime, violence, and social unrest.
Cultural loss: A declining population can lead to the loss of culture. This is because a smaller population means fewer people to pass on cultural traditions and values. This can lead to a loss of identity and a sense of community.
Environmental degradation: A declining population can lead to environmental degradation. This is because a smaller population means less demand for resources. This can lead to an increase in pollution and the destruction of natural habitats.
It is important to note that population collapse is not inevitable. There are a number of things that can be done to prevent population collapse, such as increasing the birth rate, encouraging immigration, and improving the quality of life.
Here are some of the things that can be done to prevent population collapse:
Increase the birth rate: This can be done by providing financial incentives for families to have more children, making it easier for women to balance work and family life, and providing better education and healthcare for children.
Encourage immigration: This can be done by making it easier for immigrants to come to the country and by providing them with the support they need to integrate into society.
Improve the quality of life: This can be done by reducing poverty, improving education, and providing access to healthcare.
By taking these steps, we can help to prevent population collapse and ensure a bright future for our society.

Google Bard response.

Superficially, this is a solid response and one that might well be parroted in an essay or an online argument, but some of the points just don’t make sense, so I challenged it.

Prompt: How would a declining demand for resources lead to additional environmental degradation?

A declining demand for resources could lead to additional environmental degradation in a few ways.
First, a declining demand could lead to a decrease in the price of resources. This could make it more profitable to extract and use resources, even if they are harmful to the environment. For example, if the demand for oil declines, it could become more profitable to extract oil from tar sands, which is a more environmentally damaging process than extracting oil from conventional sources.
Second, a declining demand could lead to a decrease in the amount of investment in environmental protection. If there is less demand for resources, there is less incentive to invest in technologies that reduce pollution or protect natural habitats. This could lead to an increase in environmental degradation, even if the overall amount of pollution or resource consumption declines.
Third, a declining demand could lead to a decrease in the number of people who are concerned about the environment. If fewer people are using resources, there may be less public support for environmental protection measures. This could lead to a decrease in the enforcement of environmental regulations and an increase in environmental degradation.
It is important to note that a declining demand for resources is not always a bad thing. In some cases, it can lead to a decrease in pollution and resource consumption. However, it is important to be aware of the potential negative consequences of a declining demand for resources and to take steps to mitigate these consequences.
Here are some of the things that can be done to mitigate the negative consequences of a declining demand for resources:
Invest in environmental protection: Even if the demand for resources declines, it is important to continue to invest in technologies that reduce pollution and protect natural habitats. This will help to ensure that the environment is protected even if the demand for resources does not increase.
Increase public awareness: It is important to increase public awareness of the potential negative consequences of a declining demand for resources. This will help to ensure that there is public support for environmental protection measures.
Enforce environmental regulations: Even if the demand for resources declines, it is important to continue to enforce environmental regulations. This will help to ensure that the environment is protected even if the demand for resources does not increase.
Google Bard response

The reply still didn’t ring true, so I queried it again.

Prompt: This doesn’t make sense. How would a drop in oil price lead to tar sand extraction being more economically attractive?

You are right, a drop in oil price would not lead to tar sand extraction being more economically attractive. In fact, it would have the opposite effect.
Tar sands are a type of oil that is very difficult and expensive to extract. The process of extracting tar sands requires a lot of energy and water, and it produces a lot of pollution. As a result, tar sands are only economically viable when oil prices are high.
If oil prices drop, it will become less profitable to extract tar sands. This is because the cost of extracting tar sands will not decrease as much as the price of oil. As a result, tar sand extraction will become less economically attractive, and there will be less demand for tar sands.
In addition, a drop in oil price could lead to an increase in the use of renewable energy sources. This is because renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, become more competitive with fossil fuels when oil prices are low. As a result, there will be less demand for oil, including tar sands.
Overall, a drop in oil price would not lead to tar sand extraction being more economically attractive. In fact, it would have the opposite effect.

Google Bard response

So we did start to get somewhere eventually. But what this shows is that the technology is some way from maturity, and it’s answers often need scrutiny. Google freely accepts that the technology is still at beta stage and to not rely on it, and that’s not my point. If social media posts are to be believed, big if, then users are obtaining legal advice from these things and students are cheating on exams. I just don’t buy it.

The point of this isn’t about Population Collapse, I don’t have a qualified opinion on that, only that AI can’t be relied on to provide a qualified opinion either. Not yet anyway.

27/05/2023 1

Fair Cop

An AI generated story. I don’t expect anyone to read it, I’m just playing with the free AI apps and seeing what they do. That said, if anyone wants to explain the ending to me I’d be exceedingly grateful. I have worries for the future of writing, of stories. Content creation is so utterly easy now that human curation is almost redundant. I say almost because the need for it remains, though it’s easy to negate.

I asked the AI to tell me a story, but I had to come up with my own title. The audacity of these things:

tell me a ghost story with a twist about an anxious traveller with a secret, waiting for the last train out of town, in a snow storm, in 1920s England

Fair Cop, by AI

Arthur was a nervous wreck as he sat on the bench of the empty train station, waiting for the last train out of town. It was a bitter winter night, and the snow was falling so fast that it was difficult to see beyond the platform. Suddenly, Arthur heard a faint humming noise, which gradually got louder and louder until it morphed into a woman’s voice singing a haunting melody.

Arthur tried to ignore the eerie noise, but it was impossible to ignore the fact that the voice was coming from the abandoned train tracks. He looked over and saw a woman walking slowly towards him, her figure just visible in the blizzard. It wasn’t unusual for travelers to be stranded due to snow, but the mood of the singing woman chilled him to his bones.

As she approached the platform, Arthur noticed something unusual about her. She was transparent and appeared to glide along the ground rather than walk like a normal person. And when she spoke, her words came out slowly and distorted, as if she was speaking through water.

He tried to compose himself, but his nerves soon got the better of him, and he blurted out the question that had been gnawing at him for days. “Do you know who I am?” he said, his voice trembling with anxiety.

The strange woman stopped singing for a moment and regarded him with an enigmatic expression. “I know everything about you, Arthur,” she said in a voice that was neither human nor animal.

Arthur felt his heart pounding in his chest. He knew he had to confess his secret, the reason for his anxiety. “I’m running away from the police,” he said. “I stole a valuable coin from a wealthy man, and now they’re after me.”

The woman stared at him for a moment before the blizzard suddenly cleared, revealing a police officer heading towards them.

“Arthur Thompson, I’m placing you under arrest for the theft of the Golden Medallion,” the officer announced as he arrived.

But before Arthur could react, the woman suddenly dissolved into the air, leaving only an icy chill in her wake. Arthur looked around, confused and scared, before he realized that she was a ghost from the past, warning him of his impending capture.

He was baffled by the twist of fate, but grateful, nonetheless, as the ghost had helped him avoid the inevitable punishment that would have awaited him in the hands of the law for the rest of his life, all because of his greed. He whispered a silent thank you, even as the officer cuffed him, took him to his cell to pay his penance.

It’s not going to win any awards. I’ll say that much. Maybe it’s because it’s not the premium version, but for a minute read I was mildly entertained. I’m not sure what happened at the end though. He was grateful for the warning and avoided punishment, but was caught? I dunno.

Maybe I could have saved myself some effort if I asked the AI to write a blog post about a ghost story written by AI with a very brief critique. Content is content is it not?