Credit Your Sources
If AI uses someone else is work, it should say so.
You are a photographer. You spent three weeks in the mountains to capture a perfect sunrise. An AI scraped your image, learned from it, and now generates similar images for anyone who asks — for free. No credit. No payment. No acknowledgment that your work exists. Your art helped train the machine, and the machine does not even know your name.
What This Means
When AI systems create text, images, music, or other content, they are drawing on the work of millions of human creators. This policy says AI should give credit where credit is due. If it uses someone is writing, it should say so. If it draws on someone is research, it should point to the source. And when direct attribution is not possible, the AI should at least be honest that its output is built on the work of others.
A Real-World Scenario
A journalist spent months investigating corruption in local government. She published her findings in a small regional newspaper. Within days, AI-powered news aggregators had rewritten her story and distributed it to millions — without mentioning her name or her newspaper. The aggregators got the traffic and the ad revenue. She got nothing. When she contacted the platforms, they said the AI had "synthesized information from multiple sources." Her exclusive investigation had been laundered through an algorithm.
Why It Matters to You
Because behind every piece of data AI learns from, there is a human being who created something. Writers, artists, musicians, researchers, journalists — their work has value, and they deserve recognition. If AI can use everyone is work without credit, it destroys the incentive to create. And a world where no one creates anymore is a world none of us want to live in.
For the technically inclined
AP-7.2: Source Attribution
AI systems should attribute content to its sources when drawing on external material. Where direct attribution is not feasible, the system should disclose that its output is synthesized from external content.
What You Can Do
When AI gives you information, ask where it comes from. Support creators directly — subscribe to journalists, buy from artists, pay for original work. Advocate for laws that require AI systems to disclose their training data sources. If you are a creator, learn about your rights regarding AI use of your work.