Protecting human intellectual property in the AI era

The entertainment industry is grappling with the impact of artificial intelligence on human creativity and content creation, particularly following the 2023 SAG strike. Now, a new study by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers is predicting significant revenue losses for human creators due to AI competition.

Key findings and projections: The European study estimates that AI will reduce human content creator revenues by 21-24% by 2028, representing approximately €22 billion in lost earnings.

• The research examined the impact across various creative fields, including music, literature, visual arts, and storytelling
• Experts anticipate that tech companies will be the primary beneficiaries of generative AI adoption
• The creator economy faces mounting pressure to develop new strategies for content optimization and brand building

Industry leader perspectives: Bill Gross, founder of IDEA lab, addressed the AI revolution’s impact on human creativity during a January 2025 Davos interview.

• Gross advocates for a 50% revenue sharing model between AI systems and human creators whose work is used for AI training
• He emphasizes the importance of maintaining human creativity in AI training, warning against “AI slop” or purely synthetic content
• Sandy Climan, another industry leader, argues that human storytelling uniquely captures empathy, critical thinking, and cultural values in ways AI cannot replicate

Emerging monetization strategies: New platforms and business models are being developed to protect and promote human-created content.

• Gigastar, a novel platform, enables YouTube creators to crowdfund their projects by offering investors shares in future advertising revenue
• Traditional content platforms like Spotify and YouTube are being cited as potential models for AI revenue sharing structures
• Researchers are developing metrics and methodologies to monitor and monetize creator activity more effectively

Market challenges: The transition to an AI-augmented creative landscape presents several obstacles for human creators.

• Investors express skepticism about the viability of new funding models
• Content creators must adapt to compete with AI-generated works while maintaining their unique value proposition
• Platforms face the challenge of curating the right mix of human-created and AI-generated content

Looking ahead: While the creative landscape has fundamentally changed with AI’s emergence, efforts to protect human intellectual property and creative value suggest a hybrid future rather than complete displacement. The success of these initiatives will largely depend on the implementation of fair revenue sharing models and the market’s continued recognition of uniquely human creative attributes.