aretheygay

EXCLUSIVE: Interview w/ Dave Hansen of the Author's Alliance

Added 2025-02-13 21:19:43 +0000 UTC

WHAT'S THAT? AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVE HANSEN OF THE AUTHOR'S ALLIANCE?

"What's the Author's Alliance?" You ask as I push you over a ledge. "Well," I say, as your screams fade into the distance and your body plummets closer and closer into the earth, "The Author's Alliance is a non-profit that facilitates widespread access to works of authorship by assisting and representing authors who want to disseminate knowledge and products of the imagination broadly."

This week I spoke with Dave Hansen to discuss the issue of copyright and AI. I chose to speak with someone from the Author's Alliance as they are an organization that has taken a more "open" stance on generative AI, warning about the dangers and (perhaps unintended) consequences of expanding copyright law in the name of protecting creatives. I resonated with his rejection of the framing of this story as small creators vs. Big Tech. I dislike the way people ignore the fact that perverse incentives can exist on all sides of the
"AI debate." The ugly future being pushed by Big Tech shouldn't be met with call to "go back" to the way things were before. We need to push a better future.

Part of creating that better future into existence involves thinking about new and alternative ways to think about art, ownership, authorship, and intellectual property. Though Dave may not be as copyright abolitionist-y as me, he's definitely pushing in the right direction.

Also I'm bald now.