Creativity Squared: On A.I., IP & the Law

Dear Creativity Squared Member,

How do you stay ahead of the law when it comes to generative A.I.? Discover in today’s episode!

Join Derrick L. Maultsby Jr., a Senior Associate Attorney at Frost Brown Todd who focuses on artificial intelligence, digital assets, and web3. Derrick has spoken at the intersection of law and technology at conferences and universities across the country and was named "Trailblazer in the Law" by the American Lawyer Magazine, "2023 Rising Star" by Super Lawyers, and a 2023 "Ones to Watch in America" by Best Lawyers.

Beyond his accolades, Derrick is also committed to creating a more equitable and inclusive environment within his law firm by serving on the firm's Diversity Equity and Inclusion committee.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Derrick at Black Tech Week here in Cincinnati this year, and couldn’t be more excited to have him on the show to discuss all things A.I. and the law.

Episode 20 does a deep dive into the current legal landscape around generative artificial intelligence. While nothing discussed is legal advice, both creatives and business leaders alike will learn tips to safeguard their intellectual property and harness A.I. ethically to grow their businesses.

Find out why Derrick looks to consumer privacy and our European friends for regulatory framework parallels, what we’ve learned from the Zarya of the Dawn case on A.I. art copyright, and how creatives can protect their IP, including actors when it comes to scanning their likeness.

You won’t want to miss how to ethically navigate generative A.I., IP, and the law — check Episode 20 out now!

Also, I just got back from attending Ars Electronica and will be interviewing exhibiting artist Karen Palmer tomorrow — stay tuned for that episode where we’ll dive into her storytelling from the future!

Scroll on to discover:

• 🎧 More on Episode 20

• 🤯 A.I. + Creativity News Roundup

• ⚖️ Owners’ Rights vs. Tech Progress: Finding Where A.I. Fits into Intellectual Property Law

• 👯‍♀️ Digitally Clone Yourself!

• 💎 Creativity Squared Premium Member Benefits

• 💝 Milestone Rewards

We’re just getting started, and if you enjoy our content, I’d really appreciate it if you could share, review, like, subscribe, leave a comment, and help spread the word about Creativity Squared in whatever way you’re willing to. Your support is greatly appreciated, and the whole team looks forward to growing with your help. Thank you!

Here's to exponential possibilities!

Helen

Also Noteworthy:

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🎨 I want to live in a world where artists not only coexist with A.I., but thrive. And because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue Creativity Squared generates goes to ArtsWave, a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 150 arts organizations, projects, and independent artists. Consider becoming a Premium Member today! 

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How creatives are collaborating with A.I.

Listen: E20. Derrick L. Maultsby, Jr.: A.I., IP & the Law — Oh My!
Navigate the Legal & Ethical Landscape of Generative Artificial Intelligence with Tech Attorney Derrick L. Maultsby, Jr.

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In the uncertain and rapidly changing landscape of artificial intelligence’s effects on privacy and intellectual property law, Derrick says that creatives need to be more diligent than ever. Despite power imbalances and unequal access to legal representation, Derrick encourages creatives to advocate for their ability to thrive.

He shares that it’s okay to review contracts and ask for revisions to the license that you're providing to your image. The worst they can say is no, but it's important to go into things with your eyes wide open.

The silver lining of A.I. is that everybody, not just corporations, can utilize it to learn, empower themselves, and grow. There are also tools available for creatives to help protect themselves from being taken advantage of by artificial intelligence. And if you’re looking for a lawyer to help navigate this tricky terrain, Derrick says he’s a resource for the community to provide representation or just answer questions, and generously offers his perspective and tips with the Creativity Squared community.

His tips include:

• Do not put confidential information into LLM chatbots

• Be proactive and create an A.I. policy for your company

• Read and understand the terms of service of the A.I. tools you’re using

• Don’t use A.I. solutions in final commercialization products to avoid infringing on third parties and to avoid hallucinations (exceptions are Adobe Firefly and Shutterstock which have licensing and compensation for the artists who help train their generative A.I. tools)

• Stay ahead of the law by embracing an ethical approach to A.I.

• Read contracts before signing and if possible, work with an attorney. Understand the risks and ask for edits for you maintain control of your likeness

• Negotiate your contracts and waivers if you’re not comfortable signing

Episode 20 empowers both creatives and business leaders alike with insights on how to safeguard their intellectual property and harness A.I. ethically to grow their businesses.

Your A.I. + Creativity News Roundup

With all of the A.I. news flooding our feeds and screens, we’ve got you covered. News to check out includes:

• Stability AI releases Stable Audio, a product for music & sound generation Stability AI — The company behind the A.I. image generator, Stable Diffusion, has just released an A.I. model that transforms text into music. Founder Emad Mostaque said on X that Stable Audio is the first “commercially licensed” text-to-music A.I. model. Stability AI’s website says it trained the model with music from a library run by AudioSparx, in a partnership that Stability AI said would “generate both economic and creative value for all parties.” The free version of the product offers 20-second clips while the commercial version can produce 90-second clips.

• The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2023 TIME — Marking 2023 as truly the year of artificial intelligence, TIME releases its first annual list of the top movers and shakers across tech, the arts, and scholarship. It features familiar names like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as well as those less in the limelight like Chief Scientist at Microsoft Jaime Teevan. Several creatives make the list as well, innovators such as musician Holly Hendron and Japanese manga author Rootport.

• New Open-Source ‘Falcon’ AI Language Model Overtakes Meta and Google Decrypt — An open-source large language model developed by an Abu Dhabi-based research institute is performing on par with the world’s most capable commercial A.I. models. The Falcon180B model handles up to 180 billion parameters, more than double the parameters available with Meta’s open-source model. The powerful new model is free to demo and download.

• Adobe Announces Commercial Release of Generative AI Business Wire — Creatives everywhere now have access to fully integrated A.I. throughout their work in the company’s cloud services. Adobe announced that they were officially launching their Firefly A.I. model across their products following a successful beta. The company is also releasing an A.I.-assisted enterprise platform for content production.

• Tech industry leaders endorse regulating artificial intelligence at rare summit in Washington AP News — Government and tech leaders took a small step towards A.I. regulation today by mostly agreeing that there should be some. Elon Musk and fellow industry titans shared thoughts with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and civil stakeholders behind closed doors this week. Discussions reportedly focused on striking a balance between responsible A.I. development and unstifled innovation. Attendees said the talks were productive. Critics said that the public should have been able to at least listen in.

• California lawmakers want to protect actors from being replaced by artificial intelligence Los Angeles Times — The actors’ union SAG-AFTRA is supporting a bill in the California Statehouse that would make it easier for actors to break contracts that cede ownership of their likeness to studios. The bill was introduced just before the legislature wrapped up its 2023 working session, so the bill will not be considered until next year.

• Microsoft says it will take the heat if Copilot AI commercial users get sued The Verge — Microsoft announces that it will assume legal liability and defend copyright infringement claims brought against commercial users of its Copilot A.I. services. Free users of Microsoft’s high-integrated Copilot will not get the same protection. Microsoft’s chief legal officer said in a statement that the company wants to stand behind its users and also be in the legal arenas where the limits of copyright and fair use of copyrighted material are being decided.

Read: Owners’ Rights vs. Tech Progress:
Finding Where A.I. Fits into Intellectual Property Law

Artificial intelligence can help anyone appear to be an eloquent author, stunning visual artist, wunderkind programmer, eagle-eyed editor, or a growing host of other creative and technical professions.

But who should get credit for the product of that collaboration between the human user and A.I. model? You, or the A.I. model, or the developers of the A.I. model, or the creative and technical experts who produced the content that trained the A.I. model, or nobody?

That’s the question driving a collection of historic court cases that challenge our traditional notions of ownership and what constitutes fair use of others’ work.

For more context, let’s look at some of the recent major developments in copyright law and what it means for intellectual ownership in the age of artificial intelligence, including Zarya of the Dawn, the first A.I.-assisted comic book to receive a U.S. copyright.

Sign Up: Digitally Clone Yourself
Now There Can be Two of You!

👯‍♀️ In case you missed the announcement, I’ve digitally cloned myself! There are less than a thousand known custom synthetic avatars in existence. Learn all about mine in episode E14. Not Deepfaked! I Cloned Myself. You’ll meet Helen 2.ODD, my digital double, and discover why and how I made my A.I.-created custom synthetic avatar.

🙋‍♀️ Want your own custom synthetic avatar? Creativity Squared is collaborating with our partner and sponsor Render to bring their avatar experience to Cincinnati, OH, on October 25 and 26, so anyone can digitally clone themselves. If you’re interested in this, sign up here.

Thank You to Render

Creativity Squared is supported by Render which provides Digital Likeness solutions for personal brand businesses, thought leaders, influencers, and business leaders who want to leverage their synthetic, A.I.-powered Likeness to communicate more effectively online and create audio and video content from anywhere without going on camera. Learn more by visiting: https://rendermedia.ai.

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