Are ChatGPT and Other Similar Systems the Modern Lernaean Hydras of AI?
Dimitrios Ioannidis, Esq., Dr. Jeremy Kepner, Dr. Andrew Bowne, Lt. Col., USAF, Harriet S. Bryant
Article
The full text of this Article may be found here.
34 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. 78 (2023).
Article by Dimitrios Ioannidis, Esq.,** Dr. Jeremy Kepner,*** Dr. Andrew Bowne, Lt. Col., USAF,**** Harriet S. Bryant*****
ABSTRACT
[T]
The rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence systems (“AI systems”) has created unprecedented social engagement. AI code generation systems provide responses (output) to questions or requests by accessing the vast library of open-source code created by developers over the past few decades. However, they do so by allegedly stealing the open-source code stored in virtual libraries, known as repositories. This Article focuses on how this happens and whether there is a solution that protects innovation and avoids years of liti- gation. We also touch upon the array of issues raised by the relationship between AI and copyright. Looking ahead, we propose the following: (a) immediate changes to the licenses for open-source code created by developers that will limit access and/or use of any open-source code to humans only; (b) we suggest revisions to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”) license so that AI systems are required to procure appropriate licenses from open-source code developers, which we believe will harmonize standards and build social consensus for the benefit of all of humanity, rather than promote profit-driven centers of innovation; (c) we call for urgent legislative action to protect the future of AI systems while also promoting innovation; and (d) we propose a shift in the burden of proof to AI systems in obfuscation cases.
* Research was sponsored by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory and the Department of the Air Force Artificial Intelligence Accelerator and was accomplished under Cooperative Agreement Number FA8750-19-2-1000. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Department of the Air Force or the United States Government. The United States Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Government purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation herein. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Peter Michaleas, Dr. Vijay Gadepally, Khadijah Amor Mouton, Dr. Andreas Mershin, and Prof. Alexander Pentland of MIT, Theodore Brothers of Suffolk University Law School, and Prof. Anthony R. Daimsis, FCIArb, of the University of Ottawa Law School for their valuable feedback.
** Dimitrios Ioannidis, Esq. is a partner in Roach, Ioannidis & Megaloudis, LLC based in Boston, founder of the Innovation Moot (www.innovationmoot.com), and a co-founder of OsmoCosm, a non-profit think tank that supports emerging technologies in olfaction and promotes the ethical collection and use of olfactory data. (www.osmocosm.org). He is also a core team member of www.Mycohab.com, a company that uses mycelium technology from lab to market to develop an innovative way of building affordable houses and in the process, creating jobs, contributing to food security, and rehabilitating the local ecosystem in Namibia. He recently authored a law review article on whether AI will replace arbitrators under the Federal Arbitration Act. See Dimitrios Ioannidis, Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Arbitrators Under the Federal Arbitration Act?, 28 RICH. J.L. & TECH. 505 (2022). He received a JD from Boston University School of Law and a BA in economics and political science from Boston University. See Dimitrios Ioannidis, LINKEDIN, https://www.linkedin.com/in/dimitrios-ioannidis-4783258/ [perma.cc/JU2W-C474].
*** Dr. Jeremy Kepner is head and founder of the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Supercomputing Center (LLSC), and also a founder of the MIT-Air Force AI Accelerator. Additional appointments include the MIT Mathematics Department and MIT Connection Science. Dr. Kepner received a PhD in Astrophysics from Princeton University and a BA in Astrophysics from Pomona College in 1991. Dr. Kepner’s research is described in hundreds of peer-reviewed papers spanning computing, science, and mathematics. See Dr. Jeremy Kepner (Supercomputing Center Head & Founder), http://www.mit.edu/~kepner [perma.cc/X8ER-R47A].
**** Dr. Andrew Bowne is an active-duty Air Force Judge Advocate, currently assigned as the Chief Legal Counsel of the Department of the Air Force – MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator. Dr. Bowne is the author of dozens of articles, book chapters, and policies focused on the intersection of law and technology, including intellectual property, government contracts, and ethics. He received a PhD from the University of Adelaide, a LLM with a specialization in Contract and Fiscal Law from the Judge Advocate General’s School, a JD from the George Washington University Law School, and a BA in political science from Pepperdine University. See Andrew Bowne, LINKEDIN, https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-bowne-8b9918b0/ [perma.cc/AB6T-AU4J].
***** Harriet S. Bryant is a third-year student at Suffolk University Law School and Chief Comment Editor of the Suffolk Transnational Law Review. She took on the initial task of drafting parts of this article.