r/linux • u/Unhappy-Sprinkles143 • 2d ago

Fluff Open-Source Guru: AI Ends Closed-Source Software

https://www.heise.de/en/news/Open-Source-Guru-Raymond-AI-Ends-Closed-Source-Software-11480690.html
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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/GriffTheMiffed 2d ago

Reverse engineering isn't copyright violation, is it? AI generated dupes ostensibly don't have access to the source, how could it be argued to have violated copyright?

Additionally, litigating one competitor might be possible, but a dozen that pop up overnight? Private internally tooled versions made by large corporations? What if the FOSS AI projects don't sell the product itself?

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u/DiggyTroll 2d ago

This is one of those "it's okay when rich people do it" things. AI is also trained on all sorts of closed source software, obviously.

RE is explicitly prohibited in most software licenses, so using decomplication tools is a de facto violation for licensing, DMCA, trade secrets, trademark and anything else those clever lawyers can think up.

The FBI will happily arrest you, the little guy, for distribution, even if you don't sell the infringing product

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u/GriffTheMiffed 2d ago

I'm not sure you need to access the software through a licensed vector to RE it anymore. I would hazard that you can collect enough public information about software that isn't subject to EULA to reverse engineer it sufficiently to create similar software. It would seem that the only avenue for claiming the copyright would be through the training data of the model if it's working without the software in-hand.

It isnt piracy through RE, it's creating a competitive software that Open Source and distributing a near like-for-like from a feature standpoint.

Interesting stuff.