By Steve Dent
Publication Date: 2026-01-22 14:00:00
Scarlett Johannsson, REM, Vince Gilligan and over 700 other artists demand that tech companies stop “stealing” their work to train AI models. According to the website, a new campaign called “Stealing isn’t Innovation” calls for AI companies to take “the responsible, ethical path” through licensing and partnerships.
“America’s creative community is the envy of the world, generating jobs, economic growth and exports,” a statement on the website said. “But instead of respecting and protecting this valuable asset, some of the largest technology companies, many of which are backed by private equity and other backers, are leveraging the work of American creators to build AI platforms without copyright permission.”
The group adds that the “illegal theft of intellectual property” has resulted in an information ecosystem dominated by “misinformation, deepfakes, and a bland artificial avalanche of inferior materials (“AI slop”)…threatening America’s AI…”
