Building Trust and Developing Value between Creative Rightsholders and GenAI through Tokenised Licensing and Content Authenticity Tools
Chris Elsden¹, Frances Liddell¹, Caterina Moruzzi¹, Burkhard Schafer², Ella Tallyn¹,
Evan Morgan¹, Billy Dixon¹, Kar Balan³, John Collomosse³
DOI : 10.65701/j7d2m0q9t5
Corresponding authors:
chris.elsden@ed.ac.uk • fliddell@ed.ac.uk • cmoruzzi@ed.ac.uk • B.Schafer@ed.ac.uk • E.Tallyn@ed.ac.uk • E.Morgan@ed.ac.uk • B.Dixon@ed.ac.uk • k.balan@surrey.ac.uk • j.collomosse@surrey.ac.uk
Abstract
There is currently a deficit of trust between the developers of AI systems and creative rightsholders upon whose content many AI systems ultimately depend — and currently exploit. The rapid development of GenAI tools, in particular, leaves a regulatory gap, where traditional copyright and licensing models are ill-equipped to both protect rightsholders and support sustainable and ethical AI development.
In this paper, we examine the extent to which decentralised, tokenised licensing systems — specifically the ORA framework — in combination with provenance and content authenticity initiatives (e.g., C2PA), can address these needs. As a UK-based interdisciplinary research team across design, computer science, and law, we have engaged creative professionals and publics in workshops, demonstrations, and exhibitions related to the ORA framework and content provenance.
Reflecting on these together in this paper, we critically assess the role these systems could play in building creatives’ trust in AI systems which use their work, and the further questions they raise. Finally, we present an interdisciplinary research agenda to stimulate further critical research on these technologies and their applications in the context of GenAI.
