Ripping off content to train AI wasn’t going to fly with either MAGA populists or MAGA media.
What initially appeared to be a power play by Elon Musk and DOGE to take over the US Copyright Office by having Donald Trump remove the officials in charge has now backfired in spectacular fashion, as Trump’s acting replacements are known to be unfriendly — and even downright hostile — to the tech industry.
The appointments of Blanche, Perkins, and Nieves are the result of furious lobbying over the weekend by the conservative content industry — as jealously protective of its copyrighted works as any other media companies — as well as populist Republican lawmakers and lawyers, all enraged that Silicon Valley had somehow persuaded Trump to fire someone who’d recently criticized AI companies.
No, they get that. They WANT that. It’s what the dark enlightenment bullshit is all about, and the religious nutjobs think it’ll bring about the kingdom of heaven. They both want civilization in shambles, completely unable to resist their authoritarian fantasies.