The arrival of the internet unleashed a wave of creativity as users found new ways to make and mix culture, but it also delivered an economic blow to authors, musicians and news outlets. Much of the revenue that had once flowed to content producers got gobbled by tech platforms like Facebook and Google. Now, at the dawn of the AI age, many fear the same type of economic disruption is poised to happen again.
This time around, the threat to creators comes in the form of Silicon Valley companies racing to train their AI systems by helping themselves to content available on the web—often without seeking permission. In response, a startup called Story is proposing a radical solution: remaking the intellectual property regime in order to let creators rapidly register their works on a blockchain, and use it to track and distribute royalties.
