If AI is using training data from your site, presumably it got that data by crawling it. So either it's already respecting robots.txt, in which case ai.txt would be redundant, or it's ignoring it, in which case there's no reason to expect it would respect ai.txt any more than it did robots.txt.
Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
71–80 of 296 posts
Re: Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
#72If there’s one thing LLMs are pretty good at it’s summarizing content. Shouldn’t your website just have an “About” page with this information that humans can read too?
Re: Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
#73Isn't an AI a robot?
It's a composition vs. inheritance problem.
I postulate that robots need at least a single manipulator in the physical realm: Mechanical arm assembling car doors = robot. CNC machine that follows a path = robot. Mechs with chicken legs = robot. Brain in a vat = not a robot... but can be embedded in a robot.
Re: Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "We" now want stricter copyright law when it comes to AI, but at the same time shorter copyright duration... This gross generalization of other people's views on important issues is really offensive. My view is that the Copyright Act of 1976 had it about right when they established the duration of copyright. My view is that members of Congress were handsomely rewarded by a specific corporation to carve out special…
Disney has a monopoly on media because they still have the copyright to their IP from the 20s? LOL! Companies that can leverage this new wave of AI will have, in reality, 1000x the advantage that you believe Disney has.
Yes.
There's this little thing called brand value. Disney has one of the most valuable brands in the world. Forbes estimated it at being worth about $60 billion as I recall.
That brand was built heavily over many decades on IP that dates back to the 1920s, such as the most recognizable Disney character, Mickey Mouse. They manipulated the law to enhance the value of that IP and thereby gained an edge over their competitors. That's a big part of why they now enjoy such a dominant position.
None of this is especially controversial (you will get a very different spin from Disney of course).
If you want to comment about how business works you should read history and learn how business works first. AI luminary that you are, if you choose to remain ignorant then I guess this whole cycle will happen again with AI.
Re: Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
#75security.txt https://github.com/securitytxt/security-txt :
> security.txt provides a way for websites to define security policies. The security.txt file sets clear guidelines for security researchers on how to report security issues. security.txt is the equivalent of robots.txt, but for security issues.
Carbon.txt: https://github.com/thegreenwebfoundation/carbon.txt :
> A proposed convention for website owners and digital service providers to demonstrate that their digital infrastructure runs on green electricity.
"Work out how to make it discoverable - well-known, TXT records or root domains" https://github.com/thegreenwebfoundation/carbon.txt/issues/3... re: JSON-LD instead of txt, signed records with W3C Verifiable Credentials (and blockcerts/cert-verifier-js)
SPDX is a standard for specifying software licenses (and now SBOMs Software Bill of Materials, too) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Package_Data_Exchange
It would be transparent to disclose the SBOM in AI.txt or elsewhere.
How many parsers should be necessary for https://schema.org/CreativeWork https://schema.org/license metadata for resources with (Linked Data) URIs?
Re: Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
#76Excuse me, we prefer the term "android".
Re: Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
The barrier to running an AI model is getting lower every day, so the threshold for ignoring copyright is getting lower with it.
You are mistaken if you think companies will allow common people to ignore copyright on their IP. The only IP that will be allowed to be stolen is that of other common people.
I agree with you when you talk about places where companies can bully people just by threatening to sue them, and where the defender must have lots of money even if they are clearly in the right.
But AI does not change anything there. The problem of being sued into oblivion despite being right exists there even without it.
In places where defending does not cost money, this works out in favor of the individuals.
Re: Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
#78Using robots.txt as a model for anything doesn't work. All a robots.txt is is a polite request to please follow the rules in it, there is no "legal" agreement to follow those rules, only a moral imperative. Robots.txt has failed as a system, if it hadn't we wouldn't have captchas or Cloudflare. In the age of AI we need to better understand where copyright applies to it, and potentially need reform of copyright to ali…
> "We" now want stricter copyright law when it comes to AI, but at the same time shorter copyright duration... This gross generalization of other people's views on important issues is really offensive. My view is that the Copyright Act of 1976 had it about right when they established the duration of copyright. My view is that members of Congress were handsomely rewarded by a specific corporation to carve out special…
I'm not sure arguing for a company to rest on its laurels and keep feeding of an IP from 100 years ago is an argument for creativity and innovation.
Re: Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
#79Using robots.txt as a model for anything doesn't work. All a robots.txt is is a polite request to please follow the rules in it, there is no "legal" agreement to follow those rules, only a moral imperative. Robots.txt has failed as a system, if it hadn't we wouldn't have captchas or Cloudflare. In the age of AI we need to better understand where copyright applies to it, and potentially need reform of copyright to ali…
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Re: Tell HN: We should start to add “ai.txt” as we do for “robots.txt”
#80[dead]