Link: Penguin Random House books now explicitly say ‘no’ to AI training

Penguin Random House has introduced a new policy stating that their books cannot be used for training AI technologies. This addition will appear on the copyright pages of both new prints and reprints.

This move makes Penguin Random House possibly the first major publisher to address AI on its copyright page. This change reflects their commitment to protecting the intellectual property of their authors.

The clause specifically forbids the use of their materials for AI training and text and data mining, as per EU laws. However, this is more of a caution rather than a binding legal rule.

Effectively, the publisher's stance is similar to a robots.txt file, which isn’t legally enforceable but serves as a request to refrain from scraping content. The presence of this text doesn’t alter the underlying copyright protections.

In August, the company emphasized its intention to “vigorously defend the intellectual property of our authors and artists.” While some academic publishers engage with AI companies, Penguin Random House is setting boundaries.

The publisher's proactive steps could influence how other books are utilized in the development of AI technologies in the future. This indicates a larger trend of media and literary content holders contesting the unrestricted use of their work in the AI sector. #

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Yoooo, this is a quick note on a link that made me go, WTF? Find all past links here.