Legal Guide to Emerging Technologies

Ahmad and Gupta’s “Legal Guide to Emerging Technologies” offers a comprehensive look at the legal challenges of emerging technologies, with an especially interesting focus on generative AI. While the guide extensively covers various aspects like legal frameworks, risks, and best practices, this review focuses on its exploration of copyright law within the Canadian context, a topic of growing relevance and uncertainty.

One of the guide's most striking takeaways is the lack of explicit rules in Canadian copyright law regarding the use of copyrighted material in AI training datasets. The guide highlights this ambiguity, emphasizing that there is no clear legal answer to whether using copyrighted works to train an AI system constitutes infringement (p.62-63). This uncertainty is further amplified by a recent UK case, where Getty Images sued Stability AI for allegedly using copyrighted images to train its AI image generator (p.63). This case, though not binding in Canada, underscores the brewing legal battles and potential ramifications of using copyrighted content for AI training.

The guide also raises questions about AI authorship and copyright ownership. While acknowledging that the Canadian Copyright Act typically defines "author" as a human being, it hints at the possibility of an AI system being recognized as an author if "skill and judgment" can be demonstrated (p.62). This ambiguity raises many questions: If an AI generates a song, who owns the copyright? The human operator, the AI itself, or neither? The guide, unfortunately, provides no concrete answers, underscoring the need for more clarity in Canadian legislation.

A recent example highlighting this issue is the lawsuit filed by major record labels against AI start-ups Suno and Udio. The world’s biggest music labels, including Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Records, allege that these companies have committed copyright infringement on an “almost unimaginable scale” by using AI to generate music that closely mimics existing works ( https://bbc.com/news/articles/ckrrr8yelzvo ). This case, announced by the Recording Industry Association of America, is part of a broader wave of legal challenges aimed at defining the rights and limitations of AI-generated content.

The guide's exploration of copyright issues doesn't stop at theoretical discussions. It offers practical advice for organizations developing or using AI systems, recommending they document the origin of training data and the creative process involved (p.63). This proactive documentation can be crucial in potential legal disputes concerning copyright ownership. The guide further suggests considering contractual provisions that clearly outline copyright ownership and usage rights in the context of AI-generated works (p.76).

Overall, the "Legal Guide to Emerging Technologies" provides a valuable overview of the legal challenges posed by AI, with a specific emphasis on copyright in Canada. The guide effectively highlights the existing legal ambiguities and offers practical guidance for navigating this complex landscape. However, the lack of definitive answers regarding AI training data and authorship underscores the urgent need for more comprehensive legal frameworks to address the unique challenges posed by AI and copyright in the digital age.

Legal guide to emerging technologies Ahmad, Imran. Contributors: Gupta, Shreya. Toronto, Ontario : LexisNexis Canada., 2023. 9780433524748