Human-Content-to-Machine-Data_Final - Flipbook - Page 25
Norms can be powerful, but they require collective action. We9re wary of individual creators
and collections of content trying to shape the use of their works in their own myriad ways. A
single preference, uniquely expressed, is inconsequential.
Power comes from coordination and solidarity. The more we converge on preferences and
means of expressing them across sectors, communities, and geographies, the more leverage
we will have. We intend to create a reciprocal framework that captures widely-held sentiment
across the commons.
Together, we can demand a different way.
Introducing CC Signals
We are excited to introduce a ûrst iteration of a preference signals framework, which we9re
provisionally calling CC signals.
CC signals are designed to offer a new way for stewards of large collections of content to
indicate their preferences as to how machines (and the humans controlling them) should
contribute back to the commons when they reuse and beneût from using the content. They
do not aim to limit or restrict AI development or other types of TDM that machines can
undertake. Instead, they are designed to incentivize actions in return.
The idea behind CC signals is simple. Using CC signals, a steward of a collection of content
(the 8Declaring Party9), such as a repository of research outputs or scanned books, can
express a set of criteria (a 8signal9) that would-be users of the content must meet in order to
use the content. The criteria are organized around different dimensions of reciprocity, and are
intended to drive meaningful, practical action. The framework initially consists of four signals,
described in more detail below.
CC signals are designed to be interpretable by machines, as well as humans. As we describe
in the following sections of this report, this means CC signals leverage external technical
standards and protocols to support interoperability and ensure effectiveness at scale.
CC signals are designed as global tools, which means they operate across different legal
systems. As a result, applying a CC signal is likely to have a different legal effect depending on
who applies it and in what context. Where copyright exists and is applicable, CC signals are
intended to leverage the power of copyright without increasing its power. This is not about
creating new property rights; it is more like deûning manners for machines.
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