Artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving, and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are one of the more exciting examples. Their generative capabilities have implications for our patent system, some of which are underappreciated and nonintuitive.
Under U.S. patent law, an inventor may not obtain a patent if the claimed invention would have been obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill, in view of the prior art. (See 35 U.S.C. § 103.)
In today’s News of Note, generative AI continues to draw criticism and even a ban, but that doesn’t stop developers from pushing forward with everything from music prediction and mind-reading—to talking with crabs. Plus, we look at quantum computing in health care, a new report on the impact of deep-sea rare earths mining, and so much more.
Over on Pillsbury’s SourcingSpeak blog, colleagues Elizabeth Zimmer, Sandro Serra and Mia Rendar provide an in-depth exploration of the many concerns and considerations in play for organizations seeking to integrate AI systems into their own operations.
On February 21, 2023, the Copyright Office eclipsed its prior decisions in the area of AI authorship when it partially cancelled Kristina Kashtanova’s registration for a comic book titled Zarya of the Dawn. In doing so, the Office found that the AI program Kashtanova used—Midjourney—was primarily responsible for the visual output that the Office chose to exclude from Kashtanova’s registration. (Midjourney is an AI program that creates images from textual descriptions, much like OpenAI’s DALL-E.) The decision not only highlights tension between the human authorship requirements of copyright law and the means of expression that authors can use, but it also raises the question: Can AI-generated works ever be protected under U.S. copyright law?
Today in News of Note, an innovation may pave the way for real-world quantum computing, plus we look at the latest generative AI debuts, how the world is addressing safety concerns with AI in the military, robotic chefs and much more.
Last week, Twitch banned an AI-generated production based on Seinfeld called “Nothing, Forever” from the platform for 14 days after a character named Larry Feinberg—a Jerry Seinfeld clone—made transphobic statements during his standup routine. The show’s creators blamed OpenAI’s Curie model, an older, more rudimentary version, for generating the offensive remarks. More specifically, Curie’s baked-in algorithmic bias caused it to generate the hateful comments. While jarring, the incident is by no means surprising to anyone familiar with the issue of algorithmic bias in the development and use of AI systems.
Though ChatGPT and the far-reaching consequences of AI-powered chatbots are seizing both imaginations and headlines, many industries have been capitalizing on the use of chatbots for decades. Amid cybersecurity questions and legal discourse, chatbots have gained a stronghold in key business sectors looking to maximize manpower and provide speedy customer service. Their use is common across a large range of industries spanning education and government, to manufacturing and recruitment, and everything in between. Ahead, we look at some of the industries that are leading the way in their use of chatbots.
Internet & Social Media Law Blog