Is AI-generated output protected by copyright?

Content that is generated entirely by an AI (artificial intelligence) system or tool is not protected by copyright. Copyright protection exists only for works created by humans, as explained in an article in Cokato Copyright Attorney (The Law Blog of Thomas James).

On the other hand, copyright may be claimed in the human contribution to an AI-generated or AI-assisted work. For example, if a human prompts an AI tool to create a series of specified images and then the human selects images from the output and arranges them in a creative way, copyright may be claimed in the selection and arrangement of the images. Similarly, copyright may be claimed in additions and modifications to AI-generated output that are made by a human, provided they are sufficiently creative and original.