AS Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to astonish the world with its capabilities, from writing articles and generating images to composing music and producing reports; there is an urgent, overlooked reality that demands our attention.
This article seeks to raise awareness and educate both creators and policymakers on a critical issue: the silent, systematic exploitation of intellectual property by AI systems.
While society celebrates innovation, many creators remain muted, their voices drowned out by the roar of technological progress. Their works, books, music, artwork and more — are being used to train machine learning models, where the data informs the patterns the algorithms learn, often without the creators’ consent, credit or compensation.
Behind the promise of technological advancement lies a quiet but pervasive form of abuse: Artificial intelligence, in many instances, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing — a silent thief masquerading as innovation.
This article invites readers to examine the legal, ethical and cultural implications of AI’s unchecked growth and calls for urgent policy responses, especially in regions like Africa where the creative economy is both vibrant and vulnerable.
Generative AI systems, such as large language models (LLMs) and image generators, rely on data, much of which is derived from human-created books, articles and artworks. Importantly, most of these systems are trained on large datasets containing copyrighted content scraped from the internet, including subscription-based platforms and pirated sources.
While this is done under the legal doctrine of “fair use,” which is peculiar to the United States, the fairness of that usage is, indeed, questionable.
When a creator’s life work is repurposed to drive a billion-dollar AI enterprise without their awareness or permission, this raises serious concerns of intellectual property (copyright) infringement.
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Recent legal battles in the United States have brought this issue to the forefront.
Prominent authors, including David Baldacci, John Grisham and others, have acted against OpenAI for using their books in training datasets (Authors Guild et al. v OpenAI Inc, 2023). The plaintiffs alleged that OpenAI copied their works wholesale, without permission. As of now, the case remains unresolved, but it has already sparked global debate about ownership, consent and compensation in the AI era.
It is commendable that countries in the European Union have resorted to making use of the “Opt-in” system. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR, is a prime example of the opt-in consent regime.
The GDPR requires a data subject’s consent to be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous. It is a framework that contrasts sharply with the “opt-out” model, which treats silence as consent (European Commission, 2023).
EU’s approach respects the dignity of authorship and affirms the creator’s right to decide how their work is used, especially when that use drives massive commercial profits. This model offers a compelling blueprint that African countries, including Zimbabwe, should seriously consider adopting.
Zimbabwe’s creative industries, from our musicians and poets to fashion designers and filmmakers are rich, unique and increasingly recognised on the global stage. Yet, they remain under protected.
We lack a comprehensive AI policy and enforcement of copyright law is weak. If we do not act now, our artists’ voices may be digitised, globalised and monetised without them ever knowing or benefiting.
We must demand and get involved in making sure that AI systems trained on African content provide transparency, compensation and consent. Our lawmakers should champion an “opt-in” regime that aligns with ethical standards being proposed in other parts of the world. If African creativity is valuable enough to train billion-dollar platforms, then it is valuable enough to protect.
This issue is not just legal — it is deeply ethical. Creativity is not merely data.
Every poem, painting or photograph represents hours of human thought, feeling and labour. To treat such expressions as mere raw material for machines, without recognition or reward, is to devalue the soul of human creativity.
Africa, often excluded from global intellectual property conversations must not remain silent. As a continent with vibrant cultural heritage and a growing community of digital creators, we must advocate for fair representation in global AI governance.
Our policymakers must strengthen copyright laws, create ethical frameworks for AI development, and prevent the exploitation of African content by powerful international tech firms. We must not become a data colony feeding algorithms that serve the Global North, while remaining voiceless in shaping the rules.
To strike a balance between AI innovation and intellectual property protection, it is essential to establish clear legal frameworks that promote responsible AI development while safeguarding creators’ rights.
This includes implementing transparent licensing systems, such as opt-in or opt-out mechanisms; for the use of copyrighted content in training datasets, mandating disclosure of data sources and creating fair compensation models for creators.
By encouraging ethical AI practices and updating IP laws to reflect technological realities, we can ensure that innovation thrives without erasing the voices and contributions of those who create.
Yes, AI can empower us but only if it respects the people who make creativity possible. As we ride the wave of technological advancement, we must ensure that innovation does not come at the cost of exploitation.
Because when creators are robbed of their agency, the theft may be silent but its consequences will echo for generations.
