Enterprise AI Analysis

Sustainability as a guiding principle for copyright reform: regulating the use of generative Al in the field of research and education

This article analyzes the complex relationship between Generative Al (Gen Al), sustainability, and copyright, focusing on the use of copyrighted materials for research and education using a combined theoretical and conceptual methodology. On one hand, Gen Al can be transformative by enabling broader access to content, for example, by overcoming language barriers, compiling information in very large datasets, and enabling customized educational experiences that strengthen incentives to learn, thus helping to level the playing field in research and education. These functions contribute to fulfilling the right to education as provided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, specifically, SDG4, and the right to research, as embodied in the human rights framework. On the other hand, Gen Al output poses risks in terms of false or lack of attribution to creators, lack of scientific integrity and manipulation of works, and prejudicing the moral interests of authors, which form part of the human rights framework. This article offers preliminary suggestions on how sustainability can be used as a guiding principle to find the right balance between facilitated access to knowledge for education and research and compliance with the moral rights of authors when dealing with Gen Al. The two pillars of this approach are (1) the set-up of a transparent and "human-centric" copyright framework regulating Gen Al and (2) an appropriate governance structure that can easily provide relief in case of moral rights violations prejudicial to research and education, as well as ethical innovation more broadly.