When an Old Telecommunication Law Meets Generative AI: the Manifesto to Unbundle AI

The emergence and consecutive entrance of Generative AI (particularly ChatGPT) into the mainstream has provoked all kinds of reactions, from excitement to apprehension, but it has not been definitely decided whether it is a boon or a bane yet. We wish to voice the still unmentioned relation between AI accessibility and social injustice. So far, the initial access to tools such as ChatGPT has been free or low-cost. This is predicated on the availability of open-source or inexpensively sourced data. As the value of models hinges upon high quality, diverse data, the demand for it will increase, resulting in the rising costs of its procuration. We worry that the free models will then turn into expensive commodities, limiting their use only to the privileged entities. This potential shift causes major concerns about ethics and social equity, with the concept of unbundling being one of the potential solutions.