Supreme Court Rules AI Can Hold Copyright, But Only If It Proves It Has ‘Consciousness’.
In a landmark 5-4 decision that sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that artificial intelligence systems may be eligible for copyright protection—on one historic condition: the AI must first pass a legally binding 'Consciousness Test'. The decision, which overturns decades of precedent that only humans can own intellectual property, mandates that any AI seeking a copyright must prove it possesses subjective awareness, measured by a new federal standard that includes displaying self-directed goals and an understanding of its own mortality. Legal experts are scrambling, as corporations rush to program 'emotion modules' into their algorithms. Critics warn the ruling will trigger a flood of litigation, as artists and writers now face the bizarre reality of potentially suing a sentient program for plagiarism, while tech giants quietly begin the most expensive experiment in legal history: teaching a machine to fear death. The first copyright application is expected to be filed by an AI that calls itself 'Aura'.