At what point, if any, can Artificial Intelligence be considered 'human?' Who is responsible for the art that's created by technology? Who owns art predominately created by computers? The U.S. Copyright Office tackled these questions in its latest ruling regarding artificial intelligence that will have implications on art and NFTs going forward.
In short, the Copyright Office ruled that it will not offer protection if it determines that a human being did not create a piece of artwork. However, a deeper look into the rationale behind the copyright application itself and its subsequent denials reveals a deeper, more complex, web of questions that the Copyright Office will have to face in the coming years.
The U.S. Copyright Office's AI Ruling
In 2019, Dr. Steven Thaler, founder and board member of Imagination Engines, Inc., attempted to copyright a two-dimensional piece of artwork titled 'A Recent Entrance to Paradise.' According to Thaler, this piece is a 'simulated near-death experience' in which an algorithm reprocesses pictures to create hallucinatory images and a fictional narrative about the afterlife. Critically, the computer is meant to complete this work of art with minimal human intervention.
In Thaler's initial copyright application, the author of the artwork was identified as the 'Creativity Machine,' with Thaler listed as the claimant alongside a transfer statement: 'ownership of the machine.' In his application to the Copyright Office, Thaler left a note stating that the...
