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An AI app that generates quizzes from a photograph of a texbook

questo.ai

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Re: An AI app that generates quizzes from a photograph of a texbook

#21

Post by atomicnumber1 »

wccrawford wrote: post #18
spaceribs wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's copying verbatim, it might be caching it for a short while but not saving it (based on what I'm reading about the technology). So the more interesting question here: is a computer legally allowed to generate an original interpretation of text on a page?

The user of the app is still copying the text verbatim and transferring it to the server, which is distributing.

Not exactly.

A. They probably cache only for a little while B. They aren't republishing it

Re: An AI app that generates quizzes from a photograph of a texbook

#24

Post by spaceribs »

bluGill wrote: post #12
Zolomon wrote: post #3

Are you legally allowed to copy the contents of these textbooks? If I recall there is often on the first page of textbooks long legal texts which prohibits copying of any kind without written consent from the authors.

Copyright law apples, not the first page legal looking text. They can make any claims they want to on the first page, but that has no legal standing in court. This quiz almost undoubtedly fall under fair use. Of course if you need legal advice you need to consult a lawyer.

Would you consider this a "Derivative Work" in a legal sense though?

Re: An AI app that generates quizzes from a photograph of a texbook

#25

Post by fncypants »

taixhi wrote: post #5
Zolomon wrote: post #3

Are you legally allowed to copy the contents of these textbooks? If I recall there is often on the first page of textbooks long legal texts which prohibits copying of any kind without written consent from the authors.

What our algorithm does is, we convolute the text from the textbooks to create questions such as "How did Hitler die?" from texts like "In August 1945, Hitler killed himself." from the textbook. So usually, that ends up being significantly different to the original texts in the textbook.

Copyright laws typically prohibit both identical copies, which appear to be done here by users during image processing / OCR even if only transitory, as well as derivatives of the copy. So the question then becomes, is this "fair use"?

If the use case for the app is personal use by the possessors of the textbook, very likely no problem. For all other uses you should consult a lawyer to make sure you're in the clear.

Re: An AI app that generates quizzes from a photograph of a texbook

#26

Post by blevs »

V-2 wrote: post #20
sdrothrock wrote: post #10

This made me think of the Norwegian news site that required readers to take a quiz before commenting: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/ne... Combining these two ideas could be really neat -- I wonder if it could even be sold as a service a la disqus.

The idea would combine nicely with voting in the elections, too - given a casted vote has more impact than leaving a comment under a news article ;)

The days of voting literacy tests are not exactly a bright point in American history.

Re: An AI app that generates quizzes from a photograph of a texbook

#28

Post by V-2 »

blevs wrote: post #26
V-2 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea would combine nicely with voting in the elections, too - given a casted vote has more impact than leaving a comment under a news article ;)

The days of voting literacy tests are not exactly a bright point in American history.

Every thing you can think of has been misused at some point in (not necessarily American) history.

Re: An AI app that generates quizzes from a photograph of a texbook

#29

Post by sakuronto »

wemdyjreichert wrote: post #19

This looks like an amazing tool. As someone who often uses courses that have premade notes but highly limited exercise and quiz material, this looks like a serious blessing (assuming it works). Thanks!

Unfortunately, my courses seem to have the opposite problem, but at least there's always Wikipedia.

Re: An AI app that generates quizzes from a photograph of a texbook

#30

Post by tylerhou »

fncypants wrote: post #25
taixhi wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What our algorithm does is, we convolute the text from the textbooks to create questions such as "How did Hitler die?" from texts like "In August 1945, Hitler killed himself." from the textbook. So usually, that ends up being significantly different to the original texts in the textbook.

Copyright laws typically prohibit both identical copies, which appear to be done here by users during image processing / OCR even if only transitory, as well as derivatives of the copy. So the question then becomes, is this "fair use"? If the use case for the app is personal use by the possessors of the textbook, very likely no problem. For all other uses you should consult a lawyer to make sure you're in the clear.

> as well as derivatives of the copy

Shouldn't this imply that it's illegal for me to make quizzes on my own from information I found in a textbook? If this app is implemented correctly, what it does should be indistinguishable from a human. It makes no sense to change the infringement status of a work based on how the work was produced.

Also, generally hard facts (like when Hitler died or how Hitler killed himself) are not copyrightable.

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