copy-right
mind your source
I recently bought We Who Wrestle with God by Jordan Peterson. However, I don’t want to discuss the book right now. What I would like to discuss is the copyright information at the beginning. It has some elements I have never encountered. Perhaps some other readers have. So here we go:
“Copyright © 2024 by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
“Penguin Random House values and supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader. Please note that no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.”
My coming upon that paragraph happened quite by accident. I don’t often read much of what follows ©.
What first got my attention was the assertion, “Copyright fuels creativity.” I realized I wasn’t dealing with legalese. Rather, a statement of values was being unfolded. And I would quickly add, it’s a statement of values in dire need of being heard and implemented.
The language in that paragraph could easily serve as the outline for a classroom lesson or for a workshop.
As is pointed out, there is the cherishing of “diverse voices, free speech, vibrant culture, supporting writers.” Note the urgent prohibition against using the book “for the purpose of training artificial intelligence.” That’s especially crucial in our evolving age of AI.
We are aware of the increasingly common use of artificial intelligence to generate text. A couple of years ago, there was news of a rabbi with a synagogue on Long Island who told the congregation he was going to plagiarize his sermon. They had to guess whose words he was using. And of course, guess who? (Or what?)
I must admit I often use AI to generate images. I trust that’s okay!
Believe it or not, in the scriptures there is an example of people violating copyright. And it certainly has a deleterious effect on creativity, diverse voices, free speech, and vibrant culture. It does not support writers. If we translate all of this into the words of prophets, the meaning becomes clear.
Jeremiah 23 deals with false prophets who oppose the message of Jeremiah. (Put very briefly, he warns his people that fighting the Babylonians is useless, and that they need to repent from their sin.) The section I want to highlight is verses 30 and 31.
“See, therefore, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words from one another. See, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their own tongues and say, ‘Says the Lord.’” They steal their words from each other. They are violating copyright!
Were you aware how much the Lord is a stickler against plagiarism? Maybe these verses should have been included in Penguin Random House’s defense of copyright.
The subtitle of this little article is “mind your source.” The prophets need to do that very thing, because the source they’re currently using is deceptive. In verse 32, the Lord adds, “I am against those who prophesy lying dreams…and who tell them and who lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or command them, so they do not profit this people at all.” I did not send them or command them.
I wonder, how much of that is reflected among us? To select one of the unfortunate outcomes already mentioned, how does the ignoring of copyright hamper a vibrant culture? Does it not result in the draining of color and leaving bland and boring in its wake?
I have a sticker which offers the hopeful words, “Support local art and living artists.” (I would have photographed it and presented it here, but I don’t have copyright permission!)
When we honor copy and paste methods, we inhibit our creativity. Diverse voices are silenced, whether by statute or stigma. Genuine freedom of speech is discouraged. And freedom of speech can mean both celebration and condemnation!
How is copyright violation reflected in faith? We have already seen the sorry circumstances of the prophets who resisted Jeremiah (and ultimately, God). Their source turned out to be “their own tongues.” They did not profit the people. By neglecting the one true source, the power of God, we also suffer the same fate.
However, our God wields the word of creation, that is, creation from nothing and creation of life. That word has its own guarantees against copyright violation. That word of creation is plagiarism-proof, as much as we humans might want to do the ultimate copy and paste.
