OpenAI, Google want to use copyrighted work – why content creators must push back
The battle over copyright in the age of artificial intelligence is reaching a boiling point.
Tech titans like OpenAI and Google are pushing the US government to allow AI models to freely train on copyrighted material, arguing that this is essential for national security and innovation.
Behind the rhetoric lies a stark reality: if AI firms get their way, the foundations of journalism, publishing, and creative media industries will be at risk.
At stake is not just the legal framework governing intellectual property but the economic viability of those who produce original content.
The risk of losing the AI race
Writers, journalists, publishers, and media organisations stand to lose if their work is freely scraped, repackaged, and monetised by AI systems that neither seek permission nor offer compensation.
The creative economy – which underpins knowledge and cultural production – must not be sacrificed for the sake of AI advancement.
OpenAI’s argument hinges on a national security concern: if American AI companies face restrictions while China’s developers enjoy unfettered access to data, the US risks losing the AI race.
“If the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] developers have unfettered access to data and American companies are left without fair use access, the race for AI is effectively over,” OpenAI stated in its submission to the White House’s AI Action Plan.
Yet, this argument conveniently sidesteps a crucial fact: OpenAI itself has accused China’s DeepSeek of improperly using its data. In other words, OpenAI wants to protect its own assets from being harvested by others while demanding free rein over copyrighted works created by journalists, authors, and artists.
This double standard exposes the real motivation behind the push for fair use exemptions: it’s not about national security but about ensuring AI companies can access vast amounts of free training data without legal or financial barriers.
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The silent erosion of revenue for publishers and content creators
The impact of AI on the media industry is already playing out, with AI-generated summaries siphoning traffic away from original sources.
A report from content licensing firm TollBit reveals that AI-powered search tools drive 96% less traffic to publishers compared to traditional search engines.
Chatbots, trained on news articles and blog posts, summarise content so effectively that users no longer need to visit the original source, depriving publishers of ad revenue.
This trend has already crippled companies like Chegg, a once-thriving edtech firm now facing financial turmoil.
“Traffic is being blocked from ever coming to Chegg,” CEO Nathan Schultz said at an earnings call, as the company battles Google in court over AI-generated summaries that cut into its core business.
Publishers and journalists are no strangers to digital disruption, but the AI challenge is different.
While previous waves of technological change forced adaptation, AI threatens to render content creators invisible.
If AI firms can scrape, process, and monetise content without paying for it, media organisations will struggle to survive. The business model underpinning quality journalism – already under strain – could collapse entirely.
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The illusion of fair use and the dependence on copyrighted content
The crux of the AI firms’ argument is that training on copyrighted materials constitutes fair use. Yet, courts are increasingly sceptical. A recent ruling determined that AI training is not fair use, citing concerns that AI-generated content could displace human creators.
The ruling is a sign that regulators are beginning to recognise what content creators have argued all along: AI models don’t just “learn” from existing works – they extract and replicate.
This is not innovation; it’s appropriation. AI-generated outputs often mimic original content to such an extent that they border on duplication.
For content creators, this means their work can be rebranded as AI-generated material with no credit or compensation. If this practice is allowed to continue unchecked, the incentive to produce original work will dwindle, leading to an erosion of quality journalism, research, and creative expression.
A fight for the future of intellectual property
The push by OpenAI and Google is just the beginning of a broader battle over intellectual property in the AI era. Legal challenges are mounting, but AI companies are lobbying for regulatory protections and working to sway lawmakers into enacting federal laws that override state-level restrictions.
OpenAI has gone as far as urging the US to resist international copyright laws that could “slow down AI development”.
But slowing down AI development is not the issue – ensuring that it develops responsibly is.
If AI firms are allowed to override copyright laws, the consequences will be far-reaching. News organisations will struggle to fund investigative journalism. Authors will find their work repurposed without permission. Creatives across industries will lose control over their intellectual property.
And so, while AI promises efficiency and productivity gains, it cannot come at the cost of intellectual property rights. The same companies that stand to benefit from AI-driven insights rely on high-quality, original content to make informed decisions.
If content creators are stripped of their rights, the wellspring of knowledge that fuels industries – from finance to healthcare to education – will dry up.
AI has the potential to revolutionise industries, but it must be developed within a framework that respects creators. Governments should push for AI licensing agreements that ensure fair compensation for rights holders. Tech firms should be required to negotiate usage rights rather than assume fair use as a default.
Overall, stronger copyright enforcement mechanisms must be put in place to prevent the unauthorised scraping of content.
At its core, this debate is about economic fairness. OpenAI and Google, valued in the billions, are asking for free access to content created by professionals who rely on their work to earn a living.
This is not about innovation versus restriction but about ensuring technological progress does not come at the cost of those who create the very content that AI depends on.
If the world wants to maintain a steady flow of high-quality information, it must stand behind those who produce it.
Protecting copyright in the age of AI is meant to safeguard the future of creativity, journalism, and the knowledge economy.