OpenAI Pushes U.S. to Allow AI Training On Copyrighted Material

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is pushing the U.S. government to adopt policies that allow AI models to train on copyrighted material, arguing that this is essential for maintaining America’s global leadership in artificial intelligence.

In a proposal submitted to the Trump administration’s “AI Action Plan,” OpenAI called for a copyright strategy that preserves the ability of AI models to learn from copyrighted works, claiming that restrictive rules could hand China an advantage in the AI race.

“America has so many AI startups, attracts so much investment, and has made so many research breakthroughs largely because the fair use doctrine promotes AI development,” OpenAI wrote in its proposal.

The company emphasized that limiting AI training to public domain content would stifle innovation and fail to meet the needs of modern society. OpenAI’s stance comes amid ongoing legal battles with content creators, including news outlets like The New York Times and authors who have sued the company for using their copyrighted works without permission.

Recently, the death of former OpenAI researcher and whistleblower Suchir Balaji continues to spark controversy as his family disputes the suicide ruling. Balaji, a key witness in a lawsuit against OpenAI, accused the company of copyright violations months before his death.

An independent autopsy revealed anomalies, including an unusual bullet trajectory, raising doubts about the official findings. His family has filed a lawsuit demanding transparency, while public figures like Elon Musk have questioned the circumstances.

Despite these lawsuits, OpenAI argues that its models transform copyrighted material into something new, aligning with the principles of fair use. “Our AI model training aligns with the core objectives of copyright and the fair use doctrine, using existing works to create something wholly new and different,” the company stated, as reported by Ars Technica.

The proposal also highlights concerns about China’s growing AI capabilities. OpenAI warned that if U.S. companies lose access to training data while Chinese firms continue to use it freely, “the race for AI is effectively over,” reports Ars Technica.

The company urged the U.S. government to shape international copyright policies to prevent other countries from imposing restrictive rules on American AI firms. Dr. Ilia Kolochenko, a cybersecurity expert, expressed skepticism about OpenAI’s proposals, calling them a “slippely slope.”

He argued that paying fair compensation to authors whose works are used for training AI models would be economically unviable for AI companies. “Advocating for a special regime or copyright exception for AI technologies is problematic,” Kolochenko told The Register.

In addition to copyright issues, OpenAI’s proposal includes recommendations for accelerating AI infrastructure development, such as creating “AI Economic Zones” to streamline permits for building data centers and energy facilities, as noted by The Register.

The company also called for federal agencies to adopt AI tools more aggressively, citing “unacceptably low” uptake in government departments. OpenAI’s push for fewer restrictions on AI training reflects broader debates about the balance between innovation and intellectual property rights.