AI Output: A Human Creation, That Should Not Be Protected for Now, and Maybe Forever

AI is usually considered to be a form of automatic and autonomous work, but when applied to the creation of literary and artistic works, challenges arise in deciding whether the AI is the de facto author of its output and whether AI outputs or AI-generated products should be protected under the copyright system. This article argues that these outputs should be human creations because the working principles of AI determine that AI functions merely as a mathematical tool applied by humans to not only conceive of but also to execute the creation of AI outputs. The creativity reflected in these outputs also qualifies them as copyrighted works. However, this article disagrees with faith-based opinions claiming that granting protection to AI outputs will be good for the public, and it adopts an evidenced-based approach to demonstrate that the protection of these outputs is neither useful nor necessary for achieving the copyright system’s goal of promoting the public interest and other social benefits.