Microsoft boss says content theft is normal

In a recent interview, Mustafa Suleyman, the head of the artificial intelligence department, presented his very interesting understanding about copyright.

According to him, all content published online is free and available for free copying and use. During an interview on CNBC, the host asked him if "artificial intelligence learning companies have stolen intellectual property." His response?

"I think that with regard to content that's already out there on the open web, the social contract for that content since the 1990s has been that it's fair use. Anyone can copy it, recreate it, and reproduce it. It's 'freeware' if you will, that's the deal."

Mustafa did not choose the best moment to express his very problematic opinion. Microsoft (and OpenAI) are currently in the middle of several lawsuits accusing them of stealing copyright protection from online content to train large language models.

Copyright law is undoubtedly a complex area and varies greatly from country to country, but that doesn't mean that someone can generalize the law so much and label all content as free or fair use.

Mustafa is not the only one who thinks this way, most AI companies also advocate fair use.

The Microsoft boss got quite a bit of flack on world forums. The pirate community also came forward, thanking Microsoft for all the licenses of Windows, Office software, their games, which, at least according to Suleyman, are available for free use.