Arguments in Favor of AI Fair Use

Kevin Kelly · 7 Sept 2026

Kevin Kelly did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
A neural network's latent space is closer to an uncopyrightable syntax than to copyrightable expression.

Their wordsThe latent spaces of an LLM are closer to something like a syntax which is not copyrightable.
Our reading
As AI models keep scaling up, the value of any single training source keeps shrinking.

Their wordsAs LLMs continue to scale up, the value of any particular source continues to diminish.
Our reading
Copyright law's purpose is to incentivize creation for public benefit, not to guarantee revenue streams.

Their wordsThe constitutional rationale for US copyright is incentivizing creation for public benefit, not necessarily securing revenue streams.

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The other pieces are the ones whose claims are worded most like this one's. That measures language, not agreement: they may argue the opposite.