Business · Fortune Technology
Who owns ideas in the AI age?
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The publishers, music producers, and film directors who make up the creative economy would say yes — as would many of the artists and writers they work with.
Key facts
- The commercial stakes are enormous: the global generative AI market was valued at $103.58 billion in 2025 and is projected to be $161 billion in 2026, according to Fortune Business Insights
- Parent company Hachette Livre’s 2025 revenues exceeded €3 billion ($3.44 billion), driven by the work of popular authors across the 13 regions it operates
- In early 2025, the U.S.-based Authors Guild launched a “Human Authored” certification, with the U.K.’s Society of Authors following suit in March 2026
- Last year, three authors won a landmark victory against AI company Anthropic, resulting in a $1.5 billion settlement
Summary
The argument has become increasingly urgent as generative AI companies build powerful models—and attract huge investment—by ingesting vast amounts of online text, images, and video, including books, journalism, and art created by humans. This is the existential issue facing, among others, the international publishing giant Hachette. Shelley is a publisher through and through. The son of antique booksellers, he grew up above a bookshop and got his first industry role fresh out of university. This is not mere lip service.