My mother’s book as training data - The Boston Globe

The article uses the personal journey of the author’s mother to highlight the immense time, privilege, and perseverance required to produce meaningful written work. This narrative serves as a counterpoint to the argument that AI models can treat human knowledge as mere data for training. By illustrating the deep human effort behind publishing, the text underscores that books are not just collections of words but the result of significant intellectual labor that deserves recognition and respect. Central to the discussion is the legal and ethical debate surrounding whether using copyrighted books to train large language models constitutes fair use. While AI companies argue that their systems mimic human education by consuming vast amounts of information, the article contends this analogy is flawed. AI processes text by converting it into numerical predictions rather than gaining true understanding or life experience, suggesting that the current practice fundamentally misunderstands the nature of human learning and creation. This issue is critically relevant to open data because it challenges the prevailing assumption that text data is a free, commodifiable resource for commercial AI development. If society allows books to be viewed merely as training data without compensating authors, it risks devaluing the entire ecosystem of knowledge creation. The decision made in these copyright cases will determine whether open access to information coexists with author rights, or if the commodification of language for AI profit will undermine the economic viability of long-form writing and independent publishing.

Source: bostonglobe.com
Published on 2025-05-12

My mother’s book as training data - The Boston Globe

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