The business of copyrighting in the AI/IoT age

The entire world is talking about AI (artificial intelligence) and IoT (internet of things).

There are studies that show that in the near future, machines will take half of our jobs from us. Today, AI can play shogi better than we humans can. There are even AIs that can compose better music than us. I serve as the chairman for the Intellectual Property Headquarters, where an intense debate on the rights of music and works created by AIs is underway.

It was 12 years ago when I participated in the Council for Cultural Affairs’ discussion on the compensation for private sound and visual recording. While the system remains the same today, the situation at hand has changed entirely.

At the time, PCs, hard drives, CDs and DVDs were what we thought of when it came to content consumption worldwide. Today, there has been a shift to a “smart” axis consisting of smartphones, cloud services, and social media. Businesses shift their weight forward onto in subscription services and concerts. This wave will soon hit Japan’s industries as well.
Furthermore, media will soon move onto the next stage, from smart to AI and IoT.

However, this does not necessarily mean that a crisis is at hand.

Take music for example.
The younger generations are connected to a large quantity of music with their smart devices, allowing them more opportunity for entertainment. I see them living together with music in a more natural and casual way than my generation did. While this is bad for business because the music is consumed for free, I think that it might be an opportunity for “music” itself.

I spoke with a certain musician from the West Coast. Apparently, American music usually only uses 3 chords while J-POP uses dozens. He admired how rich our music was. He was right: Japan’s music has fertile ground and a competitive edge. I want us to use technology for overseas developments.

How does copyright come into play?

The debates concerning this system are still ongoing. When the TPP takes effect, measures such as copyright term extension will be put into place. There are ongoing debates in the government concerning fair use. However, regardless of their outcome, they will have very little influence.

More importantly, what strategies will Google, Apple, and Amazon take? How will video distribution services attack TV’s stronghold? What effect will the adoption of smart devices and AI have on the viewing habits of the younger generation? We need to disregard the country’s system and remake the entire copyright business from scratch.

While I am a policymaker, I cannot afford to waste time on these debates surrounding the system. More importantly, and even if it means using the existing framework, I would like to devote my resources towards finding a way to expand this smart/AI age’s copyright world.

The government has taken an enthusiastic stance for supporting content, with a focus on taking action such as creating major brands aimed at overseas development, and the creation of anti-piracy measures. At a meeting of the Japan Strategy Promotion Council last year, members discussed a policy focused on music content.

AI/IoT are in the process of taking center stage from smart devices. Depending on how we deal with it, we will either find ourselves with a great opportunity, or find ourselves in a predicament. The business will be over by the time that we finish figuring out a system. Now is the time to anticipate the future and take the necessary measures for it.