How U.S. Copyright Law is Fueling AI’s Economic Impact

Fair use is supercharging AI and driving innovation

The big picture: Artificial intelligence is poised to become a major driver of U.S. economic growth — accelerating research and development, unlocking new industries and job opportunities, and boosting productivity across sectors.

• Future impacts: Goldman Sachs forecasts that AI will start measurably boosting U.S. GDP by 2027 and could increase global GDP by 7% annually over the next decade.

• Long-term gains: AI could lift U.S. GDP by $3.8 trillion per year by 2038, driven by a 13% surge in labor productivity, according to a recent Microsoft-Accenture report.

• Global potential: The OECD estimates that globally, AI could significantly boost productivity — though gains will vary depending on adoption rates in each country.

Yes, but: Unlocking AI’s full potential depends on continued access to the large, diverse datasets that power AI model training. As legal and policy debates continue over how that data is used, regulatory overreach would threaten innovation and hinder the societal and economic opportunities of AI as well.

• What’s at stake: AI models improve when exposed to more data. Allowing access to such data through fair use increases the accuracy and quality of outputs — from medical diagnostics to fraud detection to language translation.

• Between the lines: U.S. copyright law includes the fair use doctrine — a durable and flexible standard that can allow AI models to train on publicly available data. This long-standing framework enables innovation and creativity while respecting intellectual property rights.

• For example: GPS apps were built on copyright-protected mapping data. And search engines index millions of copyrighted websites — making information accessible to billions. These innovations are now a part of daily life.

The bottom line: Fair use provides a framework to allow for limited, reasonable use of copyrighted content in certain transformative contexts. In AI, this enables training models to learn language, structure, and style from a wide variety of sources.

Dive Deeper

Real-world impact: The benefits of AI aren’t abstract — they’re already reshaping the economy. In fact, the U.S. AI ecosystem is now home to more than 1,500 companies and 73,000 employees, according to the Microsoft-Accenture report.

• Enhancing workforce productivity: Generative AI could save U.S. workers up to 215 hours per year, nearly 50 minutes a day, by automating routine tasks, according to the Microsoft-Accenture report. That time would be reinvested into work that requires human creativity and judgment.

• Transforming health care: AI models can now analyze mammograms to detect early signs of breast cancer with over 90% accuracy. Harvard researchers report that using AI for medical diagnoses overall could cut treatment costs by 50% and improve outcomes by 40%.

• Providing key environmental insights: AI models can now forecast floods up to seven days before disaster strikes, providing ample warning time to organizations and people in the hopes of limiting damage and loss of life. AI is also being used to detect and track wildfires in real time, helping to support emergency response and better-informed decision-making.

• Leveling the playing field: AI tools are giving small businesses access to enterprise-grade capabilities. With more than 33 million small businesses in the U.S., this shift is changing who can compete — and thrive.

• Accelerating breakthroughs: At the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, AI helped discover new battery materials in just 80 hours — a process that used to take years. Similar tools are driving innovation across biotech, clean energy, and materials science.

• Fueling infrastructure projects: AI is accelerating investments in critical infrastructure, particularly in energy and transportation. For example, AI is helping to build stronger, more resilient energy grids, making electricity more reliable and affordable. It’s also being used to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles, a technology that could transform mobility for millions of people.

• Driving scientific breakthroughs: AI models have now predicted the structure of nearly all known proteins — a leap forward for drug discovery and environmental science that earned widespread recognition, including the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Another AI tool identified 2.2 million previously unknown crystals, some of which could be used to power future technologies including superconductors, supercomputers, and next-generation batteries.

What’s at stake:

The U.S. risks forfeiting billions in future GDP and falling behind in global innovation as countries like China and the EU race to shape their AI ecosystems.

• The current system works: Existing U.S. copyright law protects intellectual property rights and promotes innovation, allowing AI to solve societal challenges and spark scientific discovery.

• Shared benefits: From advancements in health care to scientific breakthroughs, AI will touch nearly every American. Keeping fair use intact ensures those benefits reach everyone — not just a select few.

The bottom line: AI can be a force multiplier for American economic leadership — but only if it continues to learn from the vast pool of human knowledge that is already fueling major breakthroughs. Preserving existing U.S. copyright law and fair use isn’t just a legal issue. It’s an economic imperative.