Sustainability as a guiding principle for copyright reform: regulating the use of generative AI in the field of research and education

This article analyzes the complex relationship between Generative AI (Gen AI), sustainability, and copyright, focusing on the use of copyrighted materials for research and education using a combined theoretical and conceptual methodology. On one hand, Gen AI can be transformative by enabling broader access to content, for example, by overcoming language barriers, compiling information in very large datasets, and enabling customized educational experiences [See O. A. Acar, “With Generative AI We Can Reimagine Education” (World Economic Forum, 19 February 2024). https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/02/with-generative-ai-we-can-reimagine-education-and-the-sky-is-the-limit/ . Accessed 19 March 2025] that strengthen incentives to learn [T. Ingkavara et al., “The Use of a Personalized Learning Approach to Implementing Self-Regulated Online Learning”, Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence 2022, Vol. 3, 100086], thus helping to level the playing field in research and education. These functions contribute to fulfilling the right to education as provided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, specifically, SDG4, and the right to research, as embodied in the human rights framework. On the other hand, Gen AI output poses risks in terms of false or lack of attribution to creators, lack of scientific integrity and manipulation of works, and prejudicing the moral interests of authors, which form part of the human rights framework. This article offers preliminary suggestions on how sustainability can be used as a guiding principle to find the right balance between facilitated access to knowledge for education and research and compliance with the moral rights of authors when dealing with Gen AI. The two pillars of this approach are (1) the set-up of a transparent and “human-centric” copyright framework regulating Gen AI and (2) an appropriate governance structure that can easily provide relief in case of moral rights violations prejudicial to research and education, as well as ethical innovation more broadly.