The Algorithm’s Original Sin: Inside the Legal War Over AI Training Data

The fundamental rules of creativity and ownership, established in law since the time of the printing press, are now collapsing under the weight of Generative AI. Its rapid-fire creation is built upon billions of human-authored works, leading to the “Original Sin” of the algorithm: the unauthorized copying of protected content for training. This conflict has ignited high-stakes lawsuits—from the New York Times challenging the AI input phase to the music industry battling against the creation of “almost identical” outputs—forcing the legal system to confront the “Authorship Challenge” and the threat of voice cloning. Join us as we explore the legal and ethical price of convenience with our guest, Dr. Andrés Guadamuz, a Reader in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Sussex and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of World Intellectual Property. Dr. Guadamuz’s groundbreaking research illuminates how centuries-old copyright principles must adapt to find a functional middle way that protects human ingenuity while allowing for technological innovation. Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle. Further reading: A Scanner Darkly: Copyright Liability and Exceptions in Artificial Intelligence Inputs and Outputs Do Androids Dream of Electric Copyright? Comparative Analysis of Originality in Artificial Intelligence-Generated Works Record Companies Bring Landmark Cases for Responsible AI Against Suno and Udio in Boston and New York Federal Courts, Respectively IP/ENTERTAINMENT CASE LAW UPDATES: New York Times v. Microsoft Corp. The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.