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by arianvanp 1807 days ago
Google did not scan those books and use it to build new books with different titles. The comparison doesn't hold up at all.
2 comments

> Google did not scan those books and use it to build new books with different titles. The comparison doesn't hold up at all.

Not sure if you meant to reply to me but I agree with you: you can't compare what Google did to what Copilot does.

Copilot just suggests code.
And someone accepts it. Even if suggesting derivatives of licensed code is not a license infringement, then Copilot sure is a vector for mass license infringement by the people clicking "Accept suggestion". And those people are unable to know (without doing extensive investigation that completely nullifies the point of the tool) whether that suggestion is potentially a verbatim copy of some existing work in an incompatible license.
If I suggest whole lines of dialogue to you, the screenwriter, did I write those lines or you? If you change names in those lines of dialogue to fit your story, do you now gain credit for writing those lines?

Suggesting code is generating code

> did I write those lines or you

Neither. Someone else did, and published it. Copilot copied the dialog and suggested it.

> If you change names in those lines of dialogue to fit your story, do you now gain credit for writing those lines?

It depends. Talking generalities isn't productive or interesting. Can you give an example and we can discuss specifics?

> Suggesting code is generating code

This isn't even superficially true

There are situations where the question is are the mishmashes from Copilot 'fair use'.

But the other, more direct question is ... what about the instances where Copilot doesn't come up with a learned mishmash result? What happens when Copilot just gives you a straight up answer from it's learning data, verbatim?

Then you, as a dev, end up with a bunch of code that is effectively copied, via a 'copying tool', which is GPL'd?

It's that specific case that to me sticks out as the 'most concerning part'.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.