There is no artificial intelligence without the vast trove of human knowledge.

Today’s generative AI applications were built on a foundation of such information, drawn from across the internet and from various databases totaling, according to at least one estimate, somewhere around 300 billion words.

That’s a lot of intellectual property, much of it produced by generations of professional writers, honed and polished by editors and sent out into the world by publishers in newspapers, magazines, books and more.

Hard to put an exact price on such a thing or even to measure the collective value of such an incredible library.

It definitely should not be free.

But that’s the assumption made by OpenAI when it claims that its use of all this data, much of which it acknowledges was subject to various copyrights, is “fair use” and did not require compensation to the original creators and owners of that knowledge and information.

If you walked into a bookstore and stole not just some of the books, but all of the books, that would be a crime, right?

That’s why newspapers, including this one, as well as authors and an array of digital publishers have filed lawsuits seeking to force OpenAI to pay for its exploitation of their work.

Regular people aren’t allowed to make copies of a recent best-seller and resell it with a different cover, nor can a studio stream a competitor’s series just because it’s on the Internet and it’s possible to copy it. They might be able to license that material, if the owner allows it, and they can certainly buy copies, but even buying a copy doesn’t give the purchaser the right to reproduce and redistribute such works.

There’s a fundamental issue of ownership in play here.

For decades, newspapers have been independent entities. They have written the obituaries of local luminaries, chronicled crimes committed, and followed fights over public works. In most every U.S. city, they’ve accumulated a great storehouse of knowledge, day by day.

The theft of that journalism to create new products clearly intended to supplant news publishers further undermines the economy for news at a time when fair and balanced reporting and a shared set of facts is more critical than ever before.

Weakening news publishers also has a collateral effect on democracy as it not only siphons off publisher revenue, but it also damages publishers’ reputations by attributing bogus information to credible publications.

Artificial intelligence “hallucinations” occur when an AI app provides false information in response to a user’s question.

The rise of artificial intelligence may be inevitable but that does not mean that the originators of the content should not expect adequate compensation.

OpenAI and its primary backer, Microsoft, pay their engineers to write their code and certainly recognize the value of that code. In fact, a recent valuation for OpenAI was $90 billion.

Surely all the knowledge and information required to train their apps – to develop the code, as it were – has value.

That value must be recognized and these companies must be held accountable.

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The spirit of Jimmy Buffett was in the house Saturday night when Kenny Chesney headlined U.S. Bank Stadium for the third time.

When Chesney’s career started taking off in the late ’90s, he took a page from Buffett’s playbook and began focusing as much of his attention on building a brand as he did making music. He’s created a sort of fantasy land called No Shoes Nation where the water is blue, the bikinis are skimpy and the drink of choice is Chesney’s own Blue Chair Bay rum. And like Buffett, who died in September, Chesney’s vision relies on island escapism vibes and heavy drinking.

As such, it wasn’t as much a concert as it was a mini festival, with some fans on the premises for seven hours. Doors opened at 4 in the afternoon at the Vikings stadium, where Nashville newcomer Megan Moroney and Chesney’s longtime buddy (and Kid Rock’s former DJ) Uncle Kracker played opening sets.

Chesney typically tours with a fairly big act in tow and this time around it was the Zac Brown Band, who previously toured with Chesney in 2013, when they hit Target Field together.

Without the pressure of a headlining set, Zac Brown Band turned in a bit looser and more casual show than usual with Brown grinning throughout. As usual, hits like “Chicken Fried,” “Homegrown” and “Toes” sounded terrific and kept the audience glowing.

Also as usual, the group indulged in a surprising number of covers. Of course they played “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which has long since been a staple of Zac Brown Band concerts. But, oof, some of the other choices were ill-advised. The only reason I can come up with for the garish mashup of “You Can Call Me Al” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is to give the three-piece horn section that augmented the nine-person band a moment to shine. In a wise move, Brown let his bandmate Jimmy De Martini handle the rapping for their tragic take on “Sabotage.”

The band did play their latest single, the perfunctory “Tie Up,” as well as “Pirates and Parrots,” a song they wrote as a tribute to Buffett. And they followed it up with 2011’s “Knee Deep,” a collaboration with Buffett.

Buffett popped up yet again in the lengthy video introduction (and Blue Chair Bay rum advertisement) to Chesney’s set. From there, it was pretty much the same show Chesney performed in the stadium in 2018 and 2022. The set list drew largely from 1999 to 2012, an era where nearly every single he released hit the Top 5 if not No. 1. That’s not the case for Chesney these days. His latest release, “Home,” is his lowest-charting album in decades. The audience gave its sole single, “Take Her Home,” a tepid response at best.

For much of his current tour, Chesney plays just one night a week, so he turned in a high-energy performance full of goofy dancing and athletic sprints up and down the massive stage. But at 56, Chesney has lost some of his vocal power, and he was never the strongest singer to begin with. At times, he sounded flat and skipped notes, most notably during the main set’s final song, “How Forever Feels.”

Buffett held onto his following as he got older and the hits stopped, and despite his issues, it seems Chesney will as well.

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The last time Minnesota United played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Loons lost a trophy to Atlanta United in the U.S. Open Cup final in August 2019.

There was no hardware on the line Saturday night, but MNUFC remained the best road team in MLS this season, with a 2-1 win over their 2017 expansion cousins.

Kervin Arriaga welcomed the birth his baby boy on Wednesday and celebrated it with a header goal off a corner kick from his fellow Honduran Joseph Rosales in the 54th minute. In celebration, Arriaga mimicked rocking a baby to sleep and sucked his thumb.

In the 60th minute, Carlos Harvey forced a turnover and started a counter attack; Tani Oluwaseyi perfectly slotted a shot into the bottom right corner of the net. A white-hot Oluwaseyi has a team-high five goals this season.

Atlantą got a goal back in the 82nd minute and the Loons death with some nervy moments. A flick-on header started a breakaway and Saba Lobjanidze scored. Giorgos Giakoumakis put what would have been a game-tying goal off the crossbar in the 91st minute. Thiago Almada had a free kick from 25 yards out, but didn’t challenge Dayne St. Clair on the final kick of the game.

MNUFC (6-2-2, 20 points) improved to 4-1-0 away from St. Paul and have won three straight games. Atlanta United (3-4-3, 12 points) is winless in their previous five.

Loons head coach Eric Ramsay started two strikers in the 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City last Saturday, but aborted that formation at halftime.

Ramsay went back to a two-striker formation in Georgia, but with Sang Bin Jeong next to Tani Oluwaseui instead of Teemu Pukki. The wrinkle Saturday was the Loons set up in a compact 5-4-1 to cut down spaces for Atlanta.

Ramsay continued to make routine halftime changes with Robin Lod, arguably the Loons’ MVP so far this season, coming out at the break and Harvey subbing in.

Each striker had a chance after a half hour. Tani Oluwaseyi was on the ball in the corner of the 18-year box and looking on an open goal after Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan collided with defender Luis Abram and were both on the ground. But Oluwaseyi’s shot went straight to a prone Guzan.

A few minutes later, Giakoumakis drive for a header, but Dayne St. Clair was in a perfect spot to deny the attempt.

Briefly

When his Loons teammates were sleeping in their Atlanta hotel pre-dawn Saturday, AWOL star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso’s account went live on Instagram. Reynoso has been letting down his club since the MLS all-star decided not to return from Argentina after skipping his U.S. green card meeting in his home country in late March. … MNUFC2 goalkeeper Alec Smir was called up for his second MLS game on Saturday; Loons backup Clint Irwin (groin) is sidelined. … Midfielder Hassani Dotson missed his second straight match with a hamstring injury. Ramsay said Friday that Dotson might be able to return for the next game, May 15 versus Los Angeles Galaxy at Allianz Field. … Ramsay was pleased to see Ipswich Town promoted to the English Premier League on Saturday. He has a connection with Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna. They both were at Loughborough University in England in the early 2010s and crossed paths again a few years ago at Manchester United.

One story heading into the West semifinals series between two of the top teams in the NBA centered on clutch time.

For the last two years, Denver has been elite in late-game situations with the contest on the line. And, since Christmas, Minnesota has been one of the worst. Opponents out-scored the Wolves by 27 points per 100 possessions of clutch time after Christmas.

Surely, if Minnesota was in a close bout with the Nuggets, it wouldn’t turn out in the Wolves’ favor.

The opposite turned out to be true. Minnesota out-executed Denver over the closing minutes Saturday in Game 1 to secure a 106-99 victory and a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 is Monday in Denver.

Christian Braun buried a corner triple to tie the game at 84-84 with more than six minutes to play Saturday, and it instantly became a contest of who could close best.

The Wolves scored on eight of their next nine possessions.

Certainly lady luck was on their side, as the next possession ended with Naz Reid banking in a 3-point shot as the shot clock expired. But Reid then turned in a putback slam on the next possession and drove baseline for an and-one the possession after that.

Anthony Edwards — who finished with 43 points, seven rebounds and three assists — hit a number of tough jumpers down the stretch and Rudy Gobert baited Nikola Jokic into a lob and then tipped it away to cause a turnover.

Minnesota opened up an 18-4 advantage to start the contest, a continuance of its dominance over Phoenix from the series prior. Denver reminded everyone why its the defending champ, though. The Nuggets immediately responded with a 21-5 run to close the quarter with a lead.

The first half was largely a slugfest. It was 44-40 Denver at the break. Timberwolves outside of Edwards accounted for just 15 points off offense over the first two quarters. Denver didn’t shoot well, either. Jamal Murray didn’t make a shot in the first half.

But the two offenses found their grooves in the third. Karl-Anthony Towns scored nine of Minnesota’s first 12 points to start the half. Mike Conley started splashing triples.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, third from left, drives to the basket as, from left, Denver Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson, center Nikola Jokic and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defend in the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 04: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves blocks a shot by Michael Porter Jr. #1 of the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter in Game One of the Western Conference Second Round Playoffs at Ball Arena on May 04, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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