The digital threshold

ownership of the work and artificial intelligence

Abstract

Even if it contributes to facilitating access to, reproduction, and reconfiguration of information, does the internet reaffirm the idea of ownership of the work present in the conception of copyright? Aiming to develop a preliminary reflection on this issue, the study analyzes the training of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), as it may involve the unauthorized use of copyright-protected material. The examination of the problem takes place through the ongoing U.S. judicial case Kadrey v. Meta, selected both for the relevance of the big tech company involved and for the debate regarding the applicability of the legal institute of fair use. Methodologically, the investigation is based on journalistic coverage of the case, as well as an examination of one of the main judicial decisions rendered to date. Drawing from Giorgio Agamben’s theoretical framework, fair use is proposed as a suspension of copyright that, instead of denying it, operates according to the logic of exception. It is observed that the use of data in AI training exemplifies how ownership of the work, albeit in a new form, is reaffirmed in the digital realm. Finally, the Agambenian concept of use is proposed as a possible path to be explored in future studies, allowing for a different way of thinking about the relationship with the work without subjecting it to exceptive logic.