Khaled Al Khawaldeh (DUBAI)
Jon Oringer, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Shutterstock, a global photo sharing app, told the World Governments Summit 2024 in Dubai that he believed ultimately AI applications that respected Intellectual property (IP) will eventually “win the race”.
Oringer compared the difference between Napster and Spotify as an example of how respecting original IP was crucial to the ultimate success of the company. Napster was made up of largely pirated music, whilst Spotify paid royalties to artists. Napster was shut down in 2001, whilst Spotify and many other similar streaming services are larger than ever.
“I think something similar will play out here, I think we have to start with the fact that these models are trained off IP that is owned by other people,” he said.
“Not all AI products are paying these contributors, but copyright law will have to catch up with that.”
Oringer said that Shutterstock had created a data product that pays creators royalties, even when that image is used by AI to create and recommend images, adding that it is absolutely crucial that creators of original IP be respected to ensure a more equitable future.