When I first learned that AI companies are vacuuming up all internet content without any regard for permission, attribution or compensation for the content creator, I found that deeply immoral.
I figured they should pay for it. But now that they do (in this instance), I'm realizing this might be even worse. They can just buy the entire market in the same way they buy Google search users by paying Apple billions a year.
And still the actual content creator, a Reddit user in this case, is not compensated.
It's truly wild how lax regulation is. This is probably the most important technology ever created and we just let 2 companies have it all: the data and the compute.
Section 230 lets them pretend they don't own the content, shielding them from liability, yet they can simultaneously claim ownership enough to sell it. That's effed up. Either it's not theirs, it's mine or ours, in which case I get to sell it or at least get a cut, or it's theirs in which case they're liable for any illicit content and should face those suits. Which is it, Silicon Valley? Is my post yours or is it mine? You shouldn't get to have it both ways.
This was one of the reasons I no longer contribute to reddit. I don't post, comment, upvote nor downvote. I'll still consume it from time to time, something I try to stop doing. All I can do is vote with my money and my time and I try to spend it else where.
I figured they should pay for it. But now that they do (in this instance), I'm realizing this might be even worse. They can just buy the entire market in the same way they buy Google search users by paying Apple billions a year.
And still the actual content creator, a Reddit user in this case, is not compensated.
It's truly wild how lax regulation is. This is probably the most important technology ever created and we just let 2 companies have it all: the data and the compute.