AI Lawsuits Will Be Irrelevant to “digital god” – Elon Musk

In a recent interview, Musk addressed queries about ongoing lawsuits aimed at fellow billionaires’ AI companies, accused of violating copyright laws in the AI domain. Musk shared his perspective on OpenAI’s claim that no AI company would admit to training their AI models using copyrighted data.

Musk argued that AI companies do indeed train models on copyrighted data, contrary to what was professed in court by OpenAI.

The Concept Of A “digital god”

Musk further asserted that the relevance of ongoing copyright lawsuits or any potential ones would diminish in the face of a “digital god.” Musk indicated that the prolonged duration required for these legal matters to conclude would be minimal with the existence of a “digital god.”

Previously, Musk asserted that Google co-founder Larry Page expressed interest in constructing a “digital god.” Musk also mentioned to Meta AI chief Yann LeCun and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that he considers his digital god a .CSV file.

Predictions About AGI’s Arrival

While Musk’s forecast for AGI’s arrival by 2030 has been met with skepticism from industry experts, his recent comments suggest a belief that this transformative artificial intelligence might materialize sooner, within the next three to five years. Musk’s remarks are about superhuman intelligence, commonly known as “artificial general intelligence” (AGI).

Although there’s no universal definition for AGI, it is an entity capable of making the US court system obsolete within three to five years. It could be categorized as an AGI construct.

However, Musk’s optimistic timeline contrasts with the views of experts like New York University professor Gary Marcus, who wagered $500,000 for charity against the likelihood of AGI arriving by 2030—a challenge that Musk has yet to address.

Artists Ramp Up Lawsuit Against AI Developers

Meanwhile, a copyright lawsuit targeting several AI development companies has taken a significant turn as more artists and their legal representatives argue that these entities infringe on creative copyright laws. Despite a United States judge’s previous dismissal of the case, a group of visual artists refiled the lawsuit earlier this week, bolstering it by including seven new artists and more extensive details outlining the purported infringement.

The newly added artists—Grzegorz Rutkowski, H. Southworth, Gregory Manchess, Jingna Zhang, Gerald Brom, Adam Ellis, and Julia Kaye—join the ongoing legal battle against Stability AI, Midjourney, DeviantArt, and a newly named defendant (Runway AI).

Allegations And Copyright Infringement Claims

The lawsuit alleges that these companies developed systems generating art resembling the styles of these artists when users feed these artists’ names into the AI. The artists argue that AI-generated art is virtually indistinguishable from their original works.

Thus, they argue that these AIs constitute copyright-laundering mechanisms that offer the benefits of art without crediting the artists. Moreover, the lawsuit accuses Midjourney, a widely used AI tool boasting approximately 16.4 million users, of violating federal trademark laws in the United States.

It highlights the website’s promotion of a list featuring over 4,700 artists’ names that can be utilized as generative prompts. One of the plaintiffs, Kelly McKernan, was surprised to discover that the primary search result for her name displayed an AI-generated image created using Midjourney and prompted by Mx. McKernan’s name.

Despite parts of the case being previously dismissed due to insufficient evidence, recent developments showcase a renewed effort by the plaintiffs to fortify their claims against the AI developers. This lawsuit forms part of a broader trend targeting various AI developers within the industry, where copyright infringement remains a pivotal concern.