英语新闻丨Ruling sparks debate on AI technology

A court ruling that recognized the copyright of an image generated via artificial intelligence, together with other recent cases involving AI, has highlighted the need to regulate the application of the fast-developing technology and triggered public discussion. The ruling made by a Beijing court was included in the capital's annual judicial work report, which Kou Fang, president of the Beijing High People's Court, delivered to the Beijing People's Congress last week.人工智能蓬勃发展，近期涉及人工智能的法律案件也不断增多。北京一家法院在裁定一起此类案件中承认了智能生成图像版权，对于人工智能技术监管的必要性不言而喻，公众也对此进行了讨论。北京市高级人民法院院长寇昉也将该裁决纳入向北京市人大提交的首都年度司法工作报告当中。Kou said the landmark decision by the Beijing Internet Court in late November had set standards and market rules for new technologies.In the first ruling of its kind in China, the court said the picture, generated by the text-to-image software Stable Diffusion, was an artwork under copyright protection because of the originality and intellectual input of its human creator.寇昉表示，北京互联网法院11月底作出的具有里程碑意义的判决，为新技术制定了标准和市场规则。法院表示，这是中国首例此类判决，该图片由文本转图像软件Stable Diffusion生成，拥有人类创作者的原创性和智力投入，因此被判定为成为受版权保护的艺术品。Liu Bin, an intellectual property lawyer at the Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, said that whether an image or a novel generated by AI can be copyrighted mainly depends on whether the content is filled with creativity or originality, which needs to be analyzed case by case.北京中闻律师事务所知识产权律师刘斌表示，人工智能生成的图像或小说能否获得版权，主要取决于内容是否充满创意或独创性，需要具体情况具体分析。The Beijing lawsuit was initiated in May last year by a man surnamed Li, who used the AI program to create a picture of a young Asian woman and posted it on Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social media platform. Li turned to the internet court after he alleged that a blogger surnamed Liu used the image without his permission in a post on Baijiahao, a Chinese content-sharing platform owned by Baidu, claiming Liu had infringed on his copyright of the picture.北京的这起诉讼是由一名李姓男子于去年5月发起的，他使用人工智能程序创建了一名年轻亚洲女性的照片，并将其发布在中国流行的社交媒体平台小红书上。李某指控一位刘姓博主未经他许可，在百度旗下的中国内容共享平台百家号上发帖使用该图片，并声称刘某侵犯了该图片的版权，因此李某向互联网法院提起诉讼。After hearing the case, the court ruled in favor of Li, identifying his AI-generated image was an artwork, and ordering Liu to make a public apology and pay 500 yuan ($70) to Li in compensation. The judge who heard the case, Zhu Ge, said the ruling was made based on the way that Li had continuously added prompts and repeatedly adjusted the parameters to come up with a picture that reflected his aesthetic choice and personalized judgment.审理此案后，法院做出了对李某有利的判决，认定他的人工智能生成的图像是艺术品，并命令刘某公开道歉并向李某支付500元（70美元）赔偿。审理此案的法官朱阁表示，该作品的生成需要李某不断添加提示、反复调整参数，并且作品反映了其审美选择和个性化判断，因此属于艺术作品。"Assigning generative AI content a legal status under certain conditions in this case is aimed at encouraging people to innovate with the new technology, and promoting the development of this emerging industry," she said. But Zhu also emphasized that future copyright disputes related to AI-generated content should be judged on a case-by-case basis. 朱阁表示：“本案在一定条件下赋予生成式人工智能内容合法地位，旨在鼓励人们利用新技术进行创新，促进这一新兴产业的发展。但也应知道，未来与人工智能生成内容相关的版权纠纷应根据具体情况进行判断”。Liu said that "with the rapid growth of AI, problems over its generated content are on the rise. However, because the existing laws don't have clear provisions in this regard, the identification of originality does require judges to spend much more time thinking and studying," he said. " Whether at home or abroad, the identification is a judicial challenge, and legal professionals need to step up efforts in related research and exploration." Cui Guobin, a law professor at Tsinghua University, said the court's ruling provided a reasonable solution for copyright disputes about AI-generated content in a certain circumstance that had important reference value for future legal practice and academic research.刘斌律师表示：“随着人工智能的快速发展，其生成内容的问题正在增多。但由于现行法律在这方面并没有明确的规定，原创性的认定确实需要法官花费更多的时间思考和研究”。清华大学法学教授崔国斌表示，无论在国内还是国外，原创性认定都是一个司法挑战，法院的判决为特定情况下人工智能生成内容的版权纠纷提供了合理的解决方案，具有重要的参考价值。为今后的法律实践和学术研究提供帮助。Hu Ling, an associate law professor at Peking University, said the ruling offered the plaintiff protection for the resources and efforts he expended in learning and using the new technology." In other words, by protecting the content generated by the AI software, the court encouraged more people to apply similar technologies in their work and lives, so that social innovation and market development can be further promoted," he said.北京大学法学副教授胡凌认为，该裁决为原告在学习和使用新技术中所花费的资源和努力提供了保护。换句话说，通过保护人工智能软件生成的内容，法院鼓励更多人将类似技术应用到工作和生活中，从而进一步推动社会创新和市场发展。In addition to AI-related copyright disputes, some other controversies have emerged amid the wider use of the technology in recent years. In December, the Beijing Internet Court began hearing the country's first case concerning the right to a voice generated by AI. It has to decide if an AI-powered imitation of a person's voice can be considered as the person's original voice, and if the technology used in the process infringes upon the person's right to that voice.除了与人工智能相关的版权纠纷之外，近年来随着该技术的广泛使用，还出现了一些其他争议。去年12月，北京互联网法院开始审理国内首例人工智能语音权案件。它必须决定人工智能对人的声音的模仿是否可以被视为该人的原始声音，以及该过程中使用的技术是否侵犯了该人对该声音的权利。The verdict will be announced later. In a recent case in Zhejiang province, police detained a group of people after they were alleged to have made more than 40,000 yuan by using AI to produce about 20,000 fake videos to attract online views.判决结果将于稍后公布。在浙江省最近发生的一起案件中，警方拘留了一群人，据称他们利用人工智能制作约2万个虚假视频来吸引网络观看，从而赚取了4万多元。In the United States, fake online images of the pop singer Taylor Swift alarmed the White House recently as the fake sexually explicit images of Swift proliferated across social media last week, including one image shared on X, formerly Twitter, that was reportedly viewed 47 million times before the account was suspended.在美国，流行歌手泰勒·斯威夫特(Taylor Swift)的虚假网络图片最近引起了白宫的警惕，上周，斯威夫特(Taylor Swift)的虚假露骨色情图片在社交媒体上激增，据报道其中发布在社交软件 X（前身为Twitter）上的一张图片浏览量以达到 4700万次，随后账号被关停。White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday that the image was "alarming" and showed that Congress should take legislative action on the issue. Liu, the lawyer in Beijing, also urged the formulation of a specific law to regulate the application of AI technology, highlighting the importance of seeking a balance between technological development and rights protection.白宫新闻秘书卡琳·让-皮埃尔周五表示，这张照片“令人震惊”，并表明国会应该就这个问题采取立法行动。北京的刘斌律师还敦促制定专门的法律来规范人工智能技术的应用，强调在技术发展和权利保护之间寻求平衡的重要性。Considering that legislation takes time, he suggested that courts strengthen mediation in AI-related case handling, adding that "internet platforms should also enhance their technical means to help users identify or reduce risks associated with the use of generative AI software at an early stage".考虑到立法需要时间，他建议法院加强人工智能相关案件的调解，并补充说：“互联网平台也应增强技术手段，帮助用户尽早识别或降低与生成人工智能软件使用相关的风险。”Copyright英  /ˈkɒp.i.raɪt/ 美 /ˈkɑː.pi.raɪt/n. 版权Rule in favor of/against做出了对某人有利/不利的裁决Intellectual Property知识产权