Irish Writers, Joined by Irish Wolfhounds, Protest Meta’s AI Use of Copyrighted Works

Writers in Ireland, supported by symbolic Irish wolfhounds, protested outside Dublin’s government buildings against Meta, alleging the tech giant used their copyrighted works to train its AI model, Llama 3, without permission. The Irish Writers Union (IWU) organized the demonstration, backed by publishers, poets, and screenwriters, and presented a 1,500-signature petition demanding compliance with Irish and EU copyright laws, fair compensation, and negotiation for licensed use of their material. The controversy follows US court revelations and an investigation linking Meta’s AI training data to millions of pirated works. Irish officials acknowledged the need for updated laws as AI advances rapidly, while Meta claims its practices align with the law.

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