On November 25, 2025, the Graduate School of Law at Nagoya University was privileged of hosting Professor Alain Strowel from Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain, Belgium). He delivered a hybrid lecture, conducted both in-person and online, titled “Generative AI: the Largest Ever ‘Theft’ of Intellectual Labor? Review of Copyright Developments in the EU and US and Possible Reform to Tackle the Risks of AI Slop and AI Model Collapse”.

Professor Strowel opened his presentation by illustrating the profound impacts of generative AI on the creative sector, emphasizing the widespread use of copyrighted works for AI training and how this practice might contribute to a “theft of intellectual labor”. He highlighted significant risks, including legal uncertainties, the proliferation of “AI slop” and the threat of “AI model collapse” if models are trained mainly on synthetic data.

Specifically, the professor detailed that the ability of AI to create competing content quickly and at minimal costs has contributed to a sharp decline in the earnings of self-employed authors and artists. Although major companies are increasingly securing licensing deals with AI developers, individual creators often left with little or no incentives at all. Thus, as the professor suggests, these problems should be resolved through the introduction of reinforced incentives of “improvement of market solution” and “new unwaivable remuneration right for creators”.

The lecture concluded with active Q&A session, as the attendees asked question from the floor and through the online platform.

This special lecture series are part of the “Lawyer Training Program for Globalization,” funded by a donation from the Shinnippon-Hoki Foundation.