Bertelsmann c.e.o. says generative AI could be 'very positive' for creative industries

Bertelsmann c.e.o. Thomas Rabe has said generative AI could be “very positive” for the creative industries, provided we “understand its potential and threats”. 

Speaking to the Financial Times, Rabe said that although there were “major questions” about copyright protection, the technology was “on balance...probably more of an opportunity”. Bertelsmann is the parent company of publisher Penguin Random House (PRH). 

Rabe said using works by well-known authors or artists as input for software so it can produce new content “could be a copyright infringement” and was being examined by the company’s legal experts. However, he also argued that a proliferation of AI-generated books and articles of varying quality would increase the value of works from respected sources. He said there were even opportunities for authors to increase their output by feeding software with their previous output to generate new content. “If it’s your content, for which you own the copyright, and then you use it to train the software, you can in theory generate content like never before.” 

He also revealed he used ChatGPT in preparation for a staff event at PRH’s office in Munich. “I asked ChatGPT what the impact of ChatGPT or generative AI is on publishing. It prepared a phenomenal text. Frankly, it was pretty detailed and to the point,” he said.