Dominic Young
@dominicyoung.bsky.social
CEO of axate.com Building a better future for media by turning users into customers. Also talking about AI thanks to my past life as an IP director and defender...
If the law doesn't protect creators and users online, how can they thrive as the AI rampage continues? One option: make a little internet which works the way we want it to, and invite everyone in. Robots can go to the tradesman's entrance round the back. dominicyoung.uk/2025/10/07/g...
Google gets off… again.
Why creating a Shengen Zone for audiences might be the best response to Google’s let off. Great news: Google have been judged to be a monopoly in a US lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice. …
dominicyoung.uk
October 7, 2025 at 2:27 PM
If the law doesn't protect creators and users online, how can they thrive as the AI rampage continues? One option: make a little internet which works the way we want it to, and invite everyone in. Robots can go to the tradesman's entrance round the back. dominicyoung.uk/2025/10/07/g...
Heron in Clapton by Monet
Heron in Clapton by Monet
ihaveseen.blog
September 19, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Heron in Clapton by Monet
Setting up a new Wordpress for something and I rediscovered this old one I made a few years ago as a sort of DIY Instagram....
ihaveseen.blog
ihaveseen.blog
Things I have seen
ihaveseen.blog
September 17, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Setting up a new Wordpress for something and I rediscovered this old one I made a few years ago as a sort of DIY Instagram....
ihaveseen.blog
ihaveseen.blog
Best tree in Hackney
Best tree in Hackney
ihaveseen.blog
September 17, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Best tree in Hackney
Many bots and crawlers don’t identify themselves when they access sites. Some of them go to great lengths to avoid detection. I’m interested to hear some reasons why this behaviour is legitimate and reasonable and/or reasons why identifying themselves would be problematic…
April 8, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Many bots and crawlers don’t identify themselves when they access sites. Some of them go to great lengths to avoid detection. I’m interested to hear some reasons why this behaviour is legitimate and reasonable and/or reasons why identifying themselves would be problematic…
By my reckoning, Meta's liability for the use of the LibGen database might range from about $4.6bn to $15.75tn. My workings below.
As well as being huge numbers and a massive range, the story of these numbers also shows the way forward for AI companies and creators.
🧵
1/22
As well as being huge numbers and a massive range, the story of these numbers also shows the way forward for AI companies and creators.
🧵
1/22
March 25, 2025 at 3:38 PM
By my reckoning, Meta's liability for the use of the LibGen database might range from about $4.6bn to $15.75tn. My workings below.
As well as being huge numbers and a massive range, the story of these numbers also shows the way forward for AI companies and creators.
🧵
1/22
As well as being huge numbers and a massive range, the story of these numbers also shows the way forward for AI companies and creators.
🧵
1/22
Why is copyright back on the front pages again? Because it’s fuelling a multi-billion industry without permission or payment.
I wrote about it for The Idler
www.idler.co.uk/article/ai-w...
I wrote about it for The Idler
www.idler.co.uk/article/ai-w...
March 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Why is copyright back on the front pages again? Because it’s fuelling a multi-billion industry without permission or payment.
I wrote about it for The Idler
www.idler.co.uk/article/ai-w...
I wrote about it for The Idler
www.idler.co.uk/article/ai-w...
Some quotes from Peter Kyle on @therestpolitics.bsky.social interview just now, explaining his approach to copyright and AI. Perhaps some fact-checking would be in order?
Posted without (immediate) comment from me... listen at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/... (start at about 57m)
Posted without (immediate) comment from me... listen at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/... (start at about 57m)
Peter Kyle: AI, grief, and the power of Elon Musk
Podcast Episode · Leading · 17/03/2025 · Subscribers Only · 1h 7m
podcasts.apple.com
March 17, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Some quotes from Peter Kyle on @therestpolitics.bsky.social interview just now, explaining his approach to copyright and AI. Perhaps some fact-checking would be in order?
Posted without (immediate) comment from me... listen at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/... (start at about 57m)
Posted without (immediate) comment from me... listen at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/... (start at about 57m)
it would be "impossible to train today's leading AI models without using copyrighted materials” is the worst argument for relaxing copyright. No other industry gets their raw materials forcibly appropriated for them by law. AI’s dependency on copyright is the best argument for strengthening it
OpenAI and Google ask for a government exemption to train their AI models on copyrighted material
OpenAI is calling on the Trump administration to give AI companies an exemption to train their models on copyrighted material.
www.engadget.com
March 15, 2025 at 8:03 AM
it would be "impossible to train today's leading AI models without using copyrighted materials” is the worst argument for relaxing copyright. No other industry gets their raw materials forcibly appropriated for them by law. AI’s dependency on copyright is the best argument for strengthening it
The UK government's proposal to exempt AI companies from copyright has generated a massive backlash. The "Make IT Fair" campaign is just one of many, and when the government's consultation on their proposals closes tonight, they will have many thousands of responses...
February 25, 2025 at 10:34 AM
The UK government's proposal to exempt AI companies from copyright has generated a massive backlash. The "Make IT Fair" campaign is just one of many, and when the government's consultation on their proposals closes tonight, they will have many thousands of responses...
Are you certain about that uncertainty?
The UK government’s consultation on AI and copyright is prefaced by an un-named minister. In it they say that copyright law related to AI is “uncertain”. Removing that uncertainty they hope, will attract AI investment to the UK. I’ll pick this apart below,…
The UK government’s consultation on AI and copyright is prefaced by an un-named minister. In it they say that copyright law related to AI is “uncertain”. Removing that uncertainty they hope, will attract AI investment to the UK. I’ll pick this apart below,…
Are you certain about that uncertainty?
The UK government’s consultation on AI and copyright is prefaced by an un-named minister. In it they say that copyright law related to AI is “uncertain”. Removing that uncertainty they hope, will attract AI investment to the UK. I’ll pick this apart below, but to summarise: There’s no uncertainty. The consultation makes that clear (see above). What’s uncertain is what AI companies should do about the fact that they have infringed billions of copyrights.
copyrightblog.co.uk
February 7, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Are you certain about that uncertainty?
The UK government’s consultation on AI and copyright is prefaced by an un-named minister. In it they say that copyright law related to AI is “uncertain”. Removing that uncertainty they hope, will attract AI investment to the UK. I’ll pick this apart below,…
The UK government’s consultation on AI and copyright is prefaced by an un-named minister. In it they say that copyright law related to AI is “uncertain”. Removing that uncertainty they hope, will attract AI investment to the UK. I’ll pick this apart below,…
Waking up, I think I smell coffee…
IIt has been a while. Hello again. I'm back talking about copyright. Can't shake my geeky obsession. But why now? The specific thing which has got my goat is a proposal from the UK government to take a wrecking ball to what is left of copyright law by largely…
IIt has been a while. Hello again. I'm back talking about copyright. Can't shake my geeky obsession. But why now? The specific thing which has got my goat is a proposal from the UK government to take a wrecking ball to what is left of copyright law by largely…
Waking up, I think I smell coffee…
IIt has been a while. Hello again. I'm back talking about copyright. Can't shake my geeky obsession. But why now? The specific thing which has got my goat is a proposal from the UK government to take a wrecking ball to what is left of copyright law by largely exempting AI companies from it. It looks crazy at a glance, and only gets crazier if you dig into the detail.
copyrightblog.co.uk
February 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Waking up, I think I smell coffee…
IIt has been a while. Hello again. I'm back talking about copyright. Can't shake my geeky obsession. But why now? The specific thing which has got my goat is a proposal from the UK government to take a wrecking ball to what is left of copyright law by largely…
IIt has been a while. Hello again. I'm back talking about copyright. Can't shake my geeky obsession. But why now? The specific thing which has got my goat is a proposal from the UK government to take a wrecking ball to what is left of copyright law by largely…
The UK's AI/copyright consultation is a mess. If it is even capable of being implemented, it won't benefit AI companies much. Instead it will be a regressive removal of legal rights from amateur and upcoming creators without any compensating benefit at all. Why?
January 14, 2025 at 2:19 PM
The UK's AI/copyright consultation is a mess. If it is even capable of being implemented, it won't benefit AI companies much. Instead it will be a regressive removal of legal rights from amateur and upcoming creators without any compensating benefit at all. Why?
Essential reading for anyone thinking about the UK AI consultation. We have been here before and the idea that we’ll attract AI billions by handing over everyone’s copyright is a pure fantasy. Better to note that UK is a creative leader, and that content is the most valuable component of AI.
A week ago, I had dinner with a key author of the AI consultation. Not just dinner: I berated them for about 7 hours. In return, they gave me a horrid cough. Which is a fair revenge. Anyway, here's a thread about what I took away from the conversation. These are my inferences, not quotes.
January 14, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Essential reading for anyone thinking about the UK AI consultation. We have been here before and the idea that we’ll attract AI billions by handing over everyone’s copyright is a pure fantasy. Better to note that UK is a creative leader, and that content is the most valuable component of AI.
Went to the theatre last night. The Victoria line was broken and the weather was atrocious so I thought I'd give @zipcaruk Flex a try. Here's how it went. Pretty slick.
January 5, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Went to the theatre last night. The Victoria line was broken and the weather was atrocious so I thought I'd give @zipcaruk Flex a try. Here's how it went. Pretty slick.
Impressive summarisation from the Apple AI here. Never knew that about the former Queen.
December 23, 2024 at 7:59 PM
Impressive summarisation from the Apple AI here. Never knew that about the former Queen.
Why would a service like Spotify do things which seem deliberately hostile to their customers and the artists whose content Spotify depends on for their service? Seems strange, but it seems to be happening...
December 20, 2024 at 11:20 AM
Why would a service like Spotify do things which seem deliberately hostile to their customers and the artists whose content Spotify depends on for their service? Seems strange, but it seems to be happening...
Another interesting titbit from the UK government's AI consultation. It says "It will also be important that collective management organisations are able to reserve the rights of their members effectively." (para 95)
December 19, 2024 at 12:31 PM
Another interesting titbit from the UK government's AI consultation. It says "It will also be important that collective management organisations are able to reserve the rights of their members effectively." (para 95)
Quite right. But “giving up” - they’re being handed over as if they belong to the government. They don’t. They’re someone’s property. Would tech firms be happy for their patents to be handed over to competitors for free?
Give up IP rights so that megabucks corporations can increase their profits.
Unconscionable
Inequitable
Unconscionable
Inequitable
Today's FT reports that almost 40 British creative groups have issued a statement on AI. They are worried that the UK government is minded to change the law, forcing creative people to give away their property to train AI models, or to proactively 'opt out'.
December 16, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Quite right. But “giving up” - they’re being handed over as if they belong to the government. They don’t. They’re someone’s property. Would tech firms be happy for their patents to be handed over to competitors for free?
Today's FT reports that almost 40 British creative groups have issued a statement on AI. They are worried that the UK government is minded to change the law, forcing creative people to give away their property to train AI models, or to proactively 'opt out'.
December 16, 2024 at 2:33 PM
Today's FT reports that almost 40 British creative groups have issued a statement on AI. They are worried that the UK government is minded to change the law, forcing creative people to give away their property to train AI models, or to proactively 'opt out'.
Reposted by Dominic Young
I think we’re at the start of a new Humanist movement across the arts.
At its core this is about rejecting AI, which even in its relative infancy has proved so relentlessly exploitative and commercial.
1/5
At its core this is about rejecting AI, which even in its relative infancy has proved so relentlessly exploitative and commercial.
1/5
November 29, 2024 at 6:39 PM
I think we’re at the start of a new Humanist movement across the arts.
At its core this is about rejecting AI, which even in its relative infancy has proved so relentlessly exploitative and commercial.
1/5
At its core this is about rejecting AI, which even in its relative infancy has proved so relentlessly exploitative and commercial.
1/5
As soon as it's possible, everyone should sign up to pay @bsky.app. If their principal revenue stream is users paying them, keeping users happy will be their main route to making money. Not true elsewhere. "Free" services can cost as lot, as the transition to Bluesky is starkly teaching us...
November 28, 2024 at 1:44 PM
As soon as it's possible, everyone should sign up to pay @bsky.app. If their principal revenue stream is users paying them, keeping users happy will be their main route to making money. Not true elsewhere. "Free" services can cost as lot, as the transition to Bluesky is starkly teaching us...
There's still time to enter #ThePressAwards! Deadline is December 4th. And if you're super-lucky, your entry might end up getting judged by me!
November 28, 2024 at 1:35 PM
There's still time to enter #ThePressAwards! Deadline is December 4th. And if you're super-lucky, your entry might end up getting judged by me!