🚨 AI art: Who really owns your images? The legal twist

Welcome to your tech marvelous Wednesday, {{first_name | friend}}. Once upon a time, in the app world’s Wild West, someone thought, “Hey, what if we made an app for rating bourbon?” Because priorities. That humble boozy idea fermented into something massive: a juggernaut with three billion users and almost zero to do with bourbon.

🥃 So which company started as a bourbon check-in app? Is it: A) Gopuff, B) Pinterest, C) Instagram or D) Buzzfeeders? Stick around for the answer at the end. It’s got quite a kick.

Real results speak in silence: My personal info is erased from over 400 data brokers and people-search sites. I could never have done that myself unless I planned to quit my job. They can’t spam or scam you if your data is gone. Ah, that’s the sound of silence with no junk texts or calls on my phone. I love that. — Kim

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If you have been playing with AI image or video generators lately, you probably had the same thought I have. Can you actually use this stuff on your website, in ads or all over social media? And once the tool spits it out, who really owns it?

Let me break it down, so you know exactly where you stand.

Here’s the part everyone loves. Most big AI tools let you use the images and videos you create for personal and commercial projects. Put them on your site, drop them in a brochure, add them to your newsletter or even run them in your marketing.

No permission forms. No surprise invoices.

But there is one twist. You can use the image, but you don’t own the copyright. It’s not because the AI company owns it. U.S. copyright law only protects work that has actual human authorship. If the AI created the whole thing, it is not copyrightable at all. It goes straight into public domain the second it appears on your screen.

You can use it. Someone else can use it. No one can lock it down. Think of AI-generated art as super handy. Fun to play with. But not something you get exclusive rights to.

One more thing people forget. You can run into trademark issues if the AI generates something that looks too close to a real brand or celebrity. The law has opinions about that, even if the AI doesn’t.

Now this is where things get good. If you take an AI-generated image and add real creative effort, like your own photography, artwork or meaningful design, you may be able to copyright the final result. The magic word is meaningful.

A quick crop, a filter or a color tweak is not enough. You need to contribute enough of your own creativity for it to legally become your work.

Check those terms before you throw anything sensitive into a prompt. And if you need legal advice, talk to an actual lawyer. I’m def not one.

Pro tip: When I need truly high-quality images, videos or celebrity shots for books, YouTube and ads, I’ve used Dreamstime for years. The library is huge, and the photos were taken by real photographers instead of a robot guessing what a human face should look like. It keeps everything polished and gives me that edge AI images still cannot deliver.

📣 Share this with a friend. Know someone who is cranking out AI images like they’re running a digital art factory? Share this with them before they accidentally build a brand on pictures they can’t even own. It might save them a legal headache or at least stop them from bragging about “their” AI masterpiece. Use the handy icons below.

⛪️ TikTok meets the pulpit: Picture this, a Kentucky pastor answers the phone. Caller says she’s got a baby and ran out of formula. The pastor asks how much she needs and offers to deliver it himself if he can’t find someone else to do it. And suddenly he’s viral (paywall link), like he accidentally auditioned for Christian Idol. Turns out the caller was a TikToker pretending to be homeless, who calls churches, then hands out gold stars or public roastings. “Testing Christian values” sounds noble until you add a ring light and monetization. 

Real Reel thieves: Facebook finally made a tool that pings you when someone yoinks your Reel and posts it as their own. You can block it, claim it or watch their views like a nosy neighbor. Meta bragged they’ve already booted 10 million fake creator profiles. Ten. Million. That’s the population of a small country. 

When am I, Gemini? Google dropped Gemini 3. It’s smarter, faster and supposedly gets the type of “nuance” that will help it read the room. Google’s also calling it their best vibe coding model. It’s showing up in Google Search, Android and Google’s paid AI tools. You can have it build custom simulations, create onboarding docs or explain van Gogh with full visuals.

A Chat-astrophe: OpenAI’s testing a group chat feature for ChatGPT, meaning you, up to 20 people and the bot can have a convo. Currently in pilot mode in Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and South Korea. Imagine the possibilities. Planning big trips, study groups, book clubs, family dramarama or embracing the joy of conversations monitored by a billion-dollar company training on your data. 

🦋 Caterpillar no more: I love butterflies. Maybe that’s why I wanted to share with you that researchers tagged 400+ monarch butterflies with tiny solar radios so they can watch each individual bug flap from Canada to Mexico (paywall link). The tag weighs 60 milligrams, basically a butterfly Fitbit, but it’s unlocking huge clues about migration and why these little champs are struggling lately. Need a smile? What do you call five cats sitting on top of each other? A caterpillar. (lol)

Want to make money with AI (but can’t code)? A 20-year expert reveals the real jobs: training chatbots and moderating ads. Plus, the OpenAI vs. NYT showdown, a chart-topping AI country song and the ClickFix scam.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now on your favorite platform:

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Delete shows or movies from your Netflix watch history to improve recommendations. Go to Your Profile > Viewing activity and click Hide from viewing history next to the title.

Chrome attack: Google is rolling out another emergency update for a security flaw that hackers are already exploiting. They’re creating malicious web pages that, if you visit them, could run harmful code on your computer. Stay safe, go to Settings > About Chrome > Relaunch. You should be on version 142.0.7444.175/176 for Windows and 142.0.7444.176 for Mac.

🧩 Add widgets to your lock screen: Want to see cool info before you sign into Windows? Open Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > Widgets and toggle it on. Click + Add widget and pick things like Weather, Sports or Copilot. Now press Windows key + L to check out your new setup.

😴 Set a YouTube sleep timer: If you like falling asleep to relaxing sounds, you don’t need it playing till morning. While watching a video, tap the cog icon, select Sleep timer and pick a time like 60 minutes or End of video. Hopefully, no ad pops up to ruin your sleep. Another way to force us to pay for Premium.

🏡 Title theft is real: I’m not taking any chances. After reading the horror stories, I signed up for the home I live in and the land I own between Phoenix and Tucson. It’s tumbleweeds now, but it’ll be worth something for my great-great-great grandchildren. (The planned freeway moved on me. Argh.) Identity thieves are silently forging deeds and stealing equity. Home Title Lock monitors my titles 24/7. Stop worrying. Get a FREE Title Report AND a 14-day free trial today.*

Handwritten letters are making a comeback, mostly because everyone’s exhausted from typing “just following up” a hundred times a month.

Enter Tou, the first smart mailbox for people who want old-school romance without the USPS turning it into a cross-country scavenger hunt. You write a real letter, slide it into this sleek little glowing toaster, and it beams your message across the world. 

Tou even fakes a one- or two-day delay, to recreate the thrill of anticipation without the fear that your love note is currently stuck in a sorting facility in Des Moines.

Congrats, you invented the fax machine. 

📸 The answer: C) Instagram. Yep, the app that now fuels your brunch photo addiction began life as Burbn, a bourbon check-in app to track craft whiskey tastings. Everyone ignored the whiskey and wanted to share photos, so the founders leaned into the one feature people actually loved. Cheers to good instincts and better pivots.

My grandfather once told me, “Kim, I spent a lot of money on women and cars and whiskey. The rest I wasted.” He was such a funny guy. I miss him.

🚨 Data exposed: Your private details are already for sale. Names, phone numbers, addresses, all on data broker sites. Stop the leaks. Use Incogni to instantly wipe your information from these dangerous databases. Save 60% right now when you sign up. It really works!

Tomorrow, I’m diving into the wild world of smart mirrors. It’s time to meet the AI-powered glass that roasts your routines, tracks your sleep and wants you to hydrate more. This is the #1 free tech newsletter in the United States. 

🔄 A simple reboot can fix almost anything. If not, try a shot of Gentleman Jack. It works for me. — Kim

📣 Don’t keep me a secret: Send your friends to GetKim.com

Photo credit(s): ChatGPT, Kunphy, Tou Mailbox

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