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Artificial intelligence is transforming the world across industries, from content creation to software development. However, as AI systems increasingly generate creative output, questions are mounting about who owns what. Courts, regulators, and lawmakers are scrambling to catch up with technology, particularly around how AI-generated content fits into existing copyright frameworks.
In the latest episode of the Analytics Insight Podcast, host Priya Dialani sat down with Phil Mataras, founder and CEO of AR.IO. Mataras is a pioneer in decentralized and permanent data storage solutions. The discussion tackled the legal gray zones around AI and copyright. The podcast also highlights how new technologies like AR.IO could provide long-term, decentralized alternatives to today’s fragile and centralized internet.
Before founding AR.IO, Phil Mataras had a solid career in enterprise IT, working as a systems architect and team leader. He worked with on-premise systems and cloud platforms, using various SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS solutions. In 2018, his perspective changed dramatically when he discovered Arweave. It is a decentralized storage protocol that allows users to store data permanently with a one-time payment.
This discovery sparked the idea for what would eventually become AR.IO. As the pandemic hit in 2020, Mataras took the leap into entrepreneurship. He launched R-Drive, a decentralized alternative to Dropbox, built on top of Arweave. His transition from corporate tech to a decentralized visionary was driven by a passion to build infrastructure for a more permanent, open, and censorship-resistant web.
Mataras explained, “At my core, I’m a builder, but as a founder and CEO, I’ve had to wear many hats, from defining vision to steering long-term architecture.”
Mataras describes AR.IO as the world’s first “permanent cloud network.” The platform is not just a decentralized storage layer; it’s an attempt to reimagine the internet itself. AR.IO provides the foundation for apps, data, and even identities to live permanently. It is free from centralized control, link rot, and the threat of de-platforming.
Their main application, R-Drive, offers a user experience similar to Dropbox but with the permanence and decentralization that Web3 technology enables. With a mission to create a web that “doesn’t forget.” AR.IO is tackling some of the most urgent issues in the modern digital world, data loss, censorship, and unverifiable content.
Mataras further emphasizes, “We’re building the infrastructure for a future where AI and other technologies can thrive without losing track of truth and ownership.”
One of the biggest questions in tech today is ‘Can content created by generative AI be copyrighted?’
The Founder of AR.IO emphasizes that current copyright laws were not designed for a world where non-humans generate content. Traditional frameworks rely on human authorship, clear attribution, and a traceable creative process. None of these things align with how large language models and generative systems work today.
The main issue lies in how AI systems are trained. These models learn from existing human-created works to generate new content, blurring the lines between original creation and derivative work. “You upload something online today, and you often have no idea who created it,” Mataras notes. He elaborates, “Attribution becomes murky in a decentralized and AI-driven internet.”
He suggests that we need to fundamentally rethink copyright laws to adapt to the complexities introduced by AI. While he’s not a legal expert, Mataras sees technology, especially permanent, verifiable storage networks like AR.IO, as playing a pivotal role in solving the attribution challenge.
As AI systems evolve, ensuring the provenance and permanence of data is becoming critical. Whether it's training data for models or the content generated by them, losing track of where things come from can lead to serious legal and ethical problems.
AR.IO aims to offer a solution. With its decentralized and verifiable architecture, the platform can help preserve the origin and history of data. This could be especially valuable in court cases or content disputes involving AI-generated works.
“We want to make permanence and data sovereignty real for people,” Mataras explains. He further states, “That means building tech that ensures information doesn’t just vanish or get manipulated.” In a world flooded with AI content, AR.IO wants to be the bedrock, keeping the internet transparent, accessible, and accountable.
Matars’ focus remains steadfast on building long-term infrastructure, not just chasing short-term trends. He believes that in the coming years, the convergence of AI, decentralized systems, and evolving legal frameworks will reshape how we interact with digital content. Technologies like AR.IO leading the charge may make the internet more intelligent, permanent, and equitable.
Phil Mataras emphasizing AR.IO ‘s objective, concludes,“We’re not just storing data. We’re storing trust, accountability, and history itself.”
