Each of the tokens programs like ChatGPT are trained on and informed by represents a tiny, tiny piece of material that someone else created. And those authors are not credited for it, paid for it or asked permission for its use. In a sense, these machine-learning bots are actually the most advanced form of a chop shop: They use material without their creators’ permission, cut itl into parts so small that no one can trace them and then repurpose them to form new products.