So I decided to go to the source and ask ChatGPT, “Is it ethical to copy and claim as ones own text generated by ChatGPT or other AI?”
And ChatGPT replied:
No, it is not ethical to copy and claim as one’s own text generated by ChatGPT or other AI without proper attribution. Just like with any other intellectual property, the original author or creator of the text generated by the AI has the right to be credited and recognized for their work.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the ethical use of AI-generated text should be guided by the same principles that apply to human-generated content. This includes avoiding plagiarism, respecting copyright laws, and giving proper credit to sources. In addition, it is important to consider the potential consequences of using AI-generated text without proper attribution, such as damaging one’s reputation or violating intellectual property rights.
Therefore, if you are using AI-generated text, it is essential to make sure that you are doing so in an ethical manner by giving credit where credit is due and respecting the rights of the original creators.
Of course what is missing from this answer is that ChatGPT doesn’t credit its sources, so it isn’t practicing what it preaches. I followed up with this question, “How does ChatGPT justify demanding that it receive attribution when copying what it says when ChatGPT doesn’t reveal its sources?” ChatGPT replied:
As an AI language model, ChatGPT is trained on a large corpus of text data, which includes a diverse range of sources. While ChatGPT itself does not reveal its specific sources, the model’s training data includes a wide range of published and publicly available text data.
When ChatGPT requests attribution for its responses, it is not necessarily asking for attribution to its specific sources, but rather for attribution to the model itself. Attribution to ChatGPT acknowledges the work that went into training and developing the model, as well as the intellectual property rights associated with the model.
Furthermore, when users copy and paste responses from ChatGPT without attribution, it can create confusion about the original source of the information. Attributing the information to ChatGPT helps to clarify the source and provides proper credit to the model’s developers.
In summary, while ChatGPT does not reveal its specific sources, attribution to the model itself is still important to acknowledge the work that went into developing the model and to clarify the source of the information.
Seems pretty much “weasel worded” to me.