Read the following article from a website.
A House of Commons committee is studying whether technology companies must pay before they use books, photographs and news stories to train artificial intelligence systems. No Canadian court has settled the question, and the committee plans to recommend a law by spring. More than sixty creators, lawyers and company leaders have asked to testify, and the hearings have drawn crowds of writers and artists to Ottawa.
Fiorella Vachon, a literary translator in Quebec City, learned last year that her French version of a Portuguese poetry collection appeared on a leaked list of files used to train a chatbot. “I spent four years of evenings on that book, and nobody asked me or my publisher,” she said. “Now a machine can write in a style that sounds a lot like mine. That feels like theft.” Vachon has since stopped putting samples of her work online.
Peregrine Wakeham, legal counsel for a national writers’ union, told the committee that firms should hold a licence before any work enters a training set. “If a company profits from your voice, it should pay for your voice,” he said. “Taking first and apologizing later is not innovation.” Anouk Yildirim, technical chief of a start-up in Waterloo, says she strongly disagrees. “Training is closer to reading than to photocopying, and our systems keep no whole chapters,” Yildirim said. “If each book and photo needs a licence before each training run, small Canadian firms will stall while the foreign giants keep going.”
Emeric Zeller, who teaches copyright law in Sherbrooke, proposes a system of tiers. “Research that earns nothing could stay mostly free. Universities need room to experiment,” he explained. “Training for profit would pay a fixed rate to a collective, the way radio stations pay for music.” Zeller adds that any writer or artist who refuses to take part, at any price, could sign a public registry. Vachon is not fully satisfied. “A rate set next year does nothing for the books that were copied before it,” Vachon said.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Paragraph two mainly presents 2..
Most likely, Fiorella Vachon feels 3..
Anouk Yildirim warns that a licence for every work would lead to 4..
The author presents the question as 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: whether AI firms must pay to use creative work
Why this is correct: The committee is studying whether companies must pay before they use books, photos and news to train AI. Every speaker reacts to that question.
Passage Reference: A House of Commons committee is studying whether technology companies must pay before they use books, photographs and news stories to train artificial intelligence systems.
Tips: Test each option against the quotes from Vachon, Wakeham, Yildirim and Zeller. Keep the option that all four are answering, not one person’s example.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a translator’s new book of Portuguese poems: Vachon’s translation is an older book. It is one example, not the subject.
- a court ruling against a Waterloo start-up: The article says no Canadian court has settled the question.
- a plan to fund research at universities: Zeller mentions research, but nobody plans new funding.
Correct Answer: one creator’s story of finding her work used
Passage Reference: learned last year that her French version of a Portuguese poetry collection appeared on a leaked list of files used to train a chatbot
Why this is correct: Paragraph two belongs to Vachon, a translator. She learned that her book appeared on a list of files used to train a chatbot.
Tips: Look at “Paragraph two” alone. Decide what it adds to the article, and choose the description that fits it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a lawyer’s call for a licence before training: Wakeham makes that call in paragraph three.
- a plan to charge different rates for different uses: Zeller describes his tiers in paragraph four.
- a court decision about training a chatbot: No Canadian court has settled the question yet.
Correct Answer: less willing to share her work in public
Passage Reference: That feels like theft. ... Vachon has since stopped putting samples of her work online.
Why this is correct: Vachon calls the use of her book theft. She has since stopped putting samples of her work online.
Tips: Read every sentence about Vachon, including what the reporter says she has done. Drop any option her words and actions do not show.
Why the other options are wrong:
- pleased that her book has reached new readers: She says the use of her work feels like theft.
- ready to accept a fee set by a collective: She says a new rate does nothing for the books used before it.
- sure that the courts will protect translators: No Canadian court has settled the question, and she never mentions courts.
Correct Answer: local start-ups losing ground to big foreign companies
Passage Reference: If each book and photo needs a licence before each training run, small Canadian firms will stall while the foreign giants keep going.
Why this is correct: Yildirim says a licence before each training run would make small Canadian firms stall. Meanwhile, the foreign giants would keep going.
Tips: Find Yildirim’s sentence that has the same condition as the item, and read the rest of it. Drop any option another speaker gives.
Why the other options are wrong:
- creators earning far more from their writing: Higher pay for creators is what Wakeham wants, not what Yildirim predicts.
- universities closing their research projects: Research is part of Zeller’s plan. Yildirim does not talk about universities.
- systems storing whole chapters of books: Yildirim says the systems keep no whole chapters.
Correct Answer: an unsettled legal issue that draws wide interest
Passage Reference: No Canadian court has settled the question ... the hearings have drawn crowds of writers and artists to Ottawa
Why this is correct: In the reporter’s own words, no Canadian court has settled the question. The hearings have drawn crowds of writers and artists.
Tips: Separate the reporter’s own sentences from the speakers’ quotes. Then test every option against the reporter’s sentences alone.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a matter the courts decided long ago: The reporter says no Canadian court has settled the question.
- a plain case of theft by technology firms: “Theft” is Vachon’s word. The reporter does not take her side.
- a dull topic that only lawyers follow: The reporter says crowds of writers and artists come to the hearings.
Correct Answer: more than sixty
Passage Reference: More than sixty creators, lawyers and company leaders have asked to testify
Why this is correct: The article says more than sixty creators, lawyers and company leaders have asked to testify.
Tips: The commenter is talking about how many people want to speak. Find where the article describes the hearings.
Why the other options are wrong:
- about twenty: This number is not in the article.
- nearly two hundred: This number is not in the article.
- over a thousand: This number is not in the article.
Correct Answer: four years
Passage Reference: I spent four years of evenings on that book
Why this is correct: Vachon says she spent four years of evenings on that book.
Tips: The commenter means the translator, so find how long she says her book took.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two years: Vachon gives a longer time than this.
- three years: Vachon gives a longer time than this.
- six years: Vachon gives a shorter time than this.
Correct Answer: spring
Passage Reference: the committee plans to recommend a law by spring
Why this is correct: The article says the committee plans to recommend a law by spring.
Tips: The commenter is repeating a timetable. Find where the article says when the committee expects to finish its work.
Why the other options are wrong:
- winter: The article names a later season than winter.
- the new year: The article gives a season, not the new year.
- February: February is not in the article.
Correct Answer: public registry
Passage Reference: Zeller adds that any writer or artist who refuses to take part, at any price, could sign a public registry.
Why this is correct: Zeller says any writer or artist who refuses to take part could sign a public registry.
Tips: The commenter means the professor in Sherbrooke, so find where he says creators could go to refuse.
Why the other options are wrong:
- national database: Zeller does not mention a database.
- union petition: Zeller does not mention a petition.
- court file: Zeller does not mention the courts.
Correct Answer: copied
Passage Reference: A rate set next year does nothing for the books that were copied before it
Why this is correct: Vachon says a rate set next year does nothing for the books that were copied before it.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the translator’s worry about the past. Find what she says happened to those books.
Why the other options are wrong:
- published: Vachon does not talk about publishing.
- sold: Vachon does not talk about books being sold.
- shared: Vachon does not use this word.
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