Lawsuits cost: let’s do a deal

Publishers are exploring ways to give artificial intelligence companies the material they need in return for fees that recognise the cost of creating it @TheBJReviewFor the last two years conversations about generative artificial intelligence and publishing have focused on key issues: the use of published content by AI companies without permission or payment; the efficacy of existing copyright laws, and the role of government and the courts in their enforcement; and, most critically, the impact of the most disruptive technology to affect publishing since the internet.High-profile legal cases, alongside government consultations and strongly held opinions have ensured that copyright has become one of the defining issues in the development of generative AI.Having responded with concern, frustration and a determination to protect their rights, publishers are considering what comes next.In a world in which AI is an established reality, might high-quality human-authored content have more, not less, value -both as an essential input to AI models, and, in an online environment saturated with AI-generated material of questionable provenance and accuracy, as an indispensable source of trusted, authoritative information?The publishing industry has spent centuries refining information, testing ideas, and investing in expertise.Whether it is an investigative news report, a scientific journal, a legal textbook or a specialist trade publication, readers place value on that material because somebody has taken responsibility for its accuracy.Behind every published work is a chain of people whose contribution is often not visible: reporters, editors, reviewers, subject specialists, designers, lawyers and countless others who ensure that