The author argues that the current era of ubiquitous digital theft is driven by the rise of generative AI, widening inequality and the behaviour of political leaders. He describes how copyrighted articles, music, art and even personal photos are scraped and reused by large tech firms with little or no accountability. In the same breath he links this cultural shift to historic patterns of theft that thrive on power asymmetries, citing examples from colonialism to modern territorial disputes. Trump is used as a case study of a leader who normalises coercive acquisition, from seized oil tankers to frozen islands and private data. The piece ends with a call to protect creators through watermarks, stronger laws and political change, warning that the line between “borrowing” and “stealing” has blurred beyond recognition.

Original article can be found here.