Who Owns Your Content in the Age of AI? Inside the Fight for Data Rights and Transparency

As AI models consume massive amounts of data, a critical question is emerging: who actually owns the content that trains them? In this episode of Gaining the Technology Leadership Edge, Mike sits down with Sharon Boulding, former CTO and CISO, AI cybersecurity expert, and founder of Parsifer, to explore the hidden risks AI poses to content creators, publishers, and the broader digital ecosystem. Sharon shares how her background in banking, linguistics, and risk management led her to build an AI-powered solution focused on data provenance, fingerprinting, and transparency. The conversation dives into why mid-tier and independent creators are being left behind as large AI companies negotiate royalties, how content is stripped of attribution and monetization, and why “cracking open the black box” of AI is essential for ethics, regulation, and trust. Sharon explains how fingerprinting content can help creators regain control, negotiate royalties, and protect cultural and historical integrity—while also helping AI companies prepare for inevitable regulation. They also explore bias, monopoly risk, prompt engineering, and why AI should be treated as a tool—not a replacement—for human creativity. This episode offers a grounded, expert-level look at AI risk, ownership, and the future of content in an increasingly automated world.