Re: Ballot option: Allow AI-Assisted Contributions

Adrian Bunk <[email protected]> Wed, 5 Aug 2026 17:32:06 +0300
Newsgroups gmane.linux.debian.devel.vote
Message-ID <anNJZnp6tliFjm9b@localhost>
On Wed, Aug 05, 2026 at 03:24:05PM +0200, Aigars Mahinovs wrote:
> On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 at 15:09, Adrian Bunk <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> > Regarding model output, a judge in New York wrote last year:
> >
> >   Turning to the merits, the Court must determine whether the Consolidated
> > Class
> >   Action Complaint adequately pleads an output-based infringement claim.
> >   It does.[2]
> >
> > This is not a decision on the merits, but it is an ongoing lawsuit where
> > the judge did compare training data and model output in the decision not
> > to dismiss.
> 
> 
> Notable in the same opinion that the "fair use" was not yet cosnidered at
> all, purely on procedural grounds - "A court cannot engage in the fair use
> inquiry until it
> has been presented with facts relevant to evaluating the fair use factors."

In [1] I gave an example of a different judge calling this
"the potentially winning argument", but "that these
plaintiffs made the wrong argument".

In [2] the plaintiffs are making the right argument, and it's not 
obvious on what basis the judge would dismiss without a trial.

> The outputs presented in the case do not really differ much in
> principle from Wikipedia or Goodreads summaries of the same books.

That's not true:

  Similarly, a more discerning observer could properly conclude that 
  outlines for potential sequels to plaintiffs’ works that were 
  generated in response to prompts to ChatGPT are substantially
  similar to plaintiffs’ original works.[2]

> Any
> decision ruling that as derivative work requiring licenses would also kill
> Wikipedia, Goodreads, IMDB and hundreds of other places on the Internet
> that describe and books, tv shows or movies in any kind of detai.
>...

That's not true.

The jury could for example decide that summaries do not have a negative 
impact on the market of the copyrighted work, but that generated sequels 
have a negative impact on the market for the upcoming "The Winds of Winter".

cu
Adrian

> > [1] https://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2026/07/msg00157.html
> > [2] https://assets.law360news.com/2404000/2404371/https-ecf-nysd-uscourts-gov-doc1-127138452540.pdf