On Monday, a new $100 million super-PAC network, Leading the Future, was introduced to shape artificial intelligence policy in next year’s elections. The group says it will fight for sensible guardrails on AI while pushing back against efforts it believes could slow AI development.

But if Leading the Future is to live up to its name, it must avoid an easy trap: framing copyright protections as an obstacle to American AI competitiveness.

In courtrooms across the U.S., AI companies and creators are clashing over how copyrighted works are used to train AI models. Creators see their life’s work used without permission or compensation. Many technology companies are arguing that training from the works of others should count as "fair use," noting that any obstacles to training could make American AI fall behind global rivals.

But this positioning, with Silicon Valley on one side, Hollywood and creators on the other, misses the point. Copyright should not be treated as a barrier to U.S. strength in AI. It is the foundation of that strength.

The creative economy is one of America’s most valuable exports. Hollywood movies dominate box offices from Seoul to São Paulo, American music and streaming platforms set global tastes, and U.S. publishing supplies the backbone of education........

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