Technology

This is one of those cases where no one agrees what "the right thing" is. Owners think it's right that they collect rent from their property. Me, I think the wider interests of society take precedence.

When the copyright directive was passed in 2019, there was a lot of opposition to it. The guy who had a lot of say as a (sorta) committee chair was the same one who now oversaw the AI act. Few people at the time care that it regulated AI training. I think the lobbying came mainly from academics who understood that the oppressive IP laws in many EU countries made ML all but illegal. I'm sure, if the copyright industry had foreseen the importance of the AI training provisions, the situation would be much worse for the EU now.

Unfortunately, the people who might argue for the wider interests of society don't have the wherewithal to meaningfully contribute here. Few people know what AI is, and no one knows what it will be in a few years. There is a lot of rubbish in the act that will do more harm than good, in the name of protecting society. But because it is so ill thought out, I doubt it will do much either way. The copyright fanatics were the real damage dealers.