"AI WROTE THIS, BUT WHO OWNS IT?” ANALYSIS OF REDDIT USERS’ DISCOURSES ON CHATGPT AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) has impacted creative industries. However, the adoption has raised a lot of deliberations on copyright infringement, ethical implications, and potential societal impact. Few studies examine the users’ perspective on ChatGPT and copyright infringement. This study examines the public discourse on ChatGPT and copyright infringement from Reddit, focusing on user opinions. The researchers used qualitative content analysis and natural language processing by analyzing 1,395 cleaned comments through topic modeling and sentimental analysis. Four recurring themes emerged of key users' concerns: equitable copyright laws, compensation for copyrighted work, fair use of copyrighted work, and training models on copyrighted work. Sentiment analysis revealed a mixture of positive and negative responses, with users expressing excitement and skepticism regarding the impact of ChatGPT on copyright and intellectual property laws. The study insight contributes to academia, industry stakeholders, and policymakers having a transparent, fair GAI system and equitable copyright framework.