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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsTechnologicalArtificial IntelligenceGenerative AIData PrivacyIntellectual propertyCopyright Law•••Started 4mos agoActive 6 days ago

Should AI companies be required to pay royalties to creators whose work was used to train their models?

This issue is central to current class-action lawsuits where artists allege AI models were illegally built on their intellectual property. Proponents argue tech companies are strip-mining human creativity to automate artists out of a job without consent. Opponents contend that AI 'learns' patterns rather than copying files, and restrictive laws would stifle innovation and hand a monopoly to the few giants wealthy enough to pay licensing fees.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 1.3k UK voters.

84%
Yes
16%
No
74%
Yes
12%
No
4%
Yes, using creative work without permission is theft, regardless of the technology
2%
No, AI learning is "fair use" just like a human reading a book
3%
Yes, we need a "Spotify for data" licensing model to fairly compensate creators
2%
No, mandatory fees would kill open-source and hand a monopoly to Big Tech
2%
Yes, but only for future models, as auditing old datasets is impossible

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 1.3k UK voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 1.3k UK voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from UK voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @BDTYTNVanswered…3wks3W

Yes, but only where mandatory permission is sought and approved from the individual creators.

 @BDMFJJJanswered…1mo1MO

There is no clear cut answer here.

 @9WTN5BT  from Maine  answered…1mo1MO

No, because while ethically ideal it isn't possible to enforce.

 @9WTN5BT  from Maine  answered…1mo1MO

How could it be enforced?

 @9WTN5BT  from Maine  answered…1mo1MO

It's impossible to enforce.

 @BDG43F9answered…1mo1MO

No. If the training data was aquired without consent, it shouldn't be sold at all.

 @BD823V9answered…2mos2MO

Ai companies should not only have to pay royalties, they should not exist in the first place. Ai needs to be abolished and is inherently harmful.

 @BD3RSHQanswered…2mos2MO

The same law should apply to AI as to humans

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Active 2mos ago

 @ISIDEWITHDiscuss this answer...…6yrs6Y

Should critical race theory be taught in K-12 education?

No

▲  19.8k6 replies4 agree1 disagree

About This Data

Based on 1.3k responses to this question.

These results come from iSideWith's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).

iSideWith is non-partisan — we don't advocate for any party, candidate, or position. We report what the public tells us.

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Cite This Poll

iSideWith. (2026). “Should AI companies be required to pay royalties to creators whose work was used to train their models?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 21, 2026, from https://uk.isidewith.com/poll/5545197205

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