That IP can be owned is only due to laws that say it can be, or it is kept a secret. What happens when the effort to make software to solve a specific problem becomes trivial, and the model of ownership is based on made up agreements? Do the ones who hold all the data to train the algorithms, who have access to large scale computing resources hold all the value?

the IP itself isn’t a problem

the problem is that you are forced to sign off your work to corporations else you can’t feed your family, because they’ll find somebody else who is desperate enough and will sign it

the only solution is unionizing and voting against IP transfer between individual and corporation

> the only currency in this world is ownership and job-takers take no ownership in their work because they choose to trade their finite time and valuable IP for peanut butter

What's the alternative?

global level:

- unionizing

- union vote against signing IP assignment

- royalty agreement (like in music business)

- state legislation to make IP transfers between individual and corporation illegal

on individual level:

- refusing to sign IP assignment

- if possible, founding your own company with money extracted from labour and keeping the IP for yourself

> - if possible, founding your own company with money extracted from labour and keeping the IP for yourself

In other words: You should not allow others to get rich on your labour. Instead make a company and get rich on other people's labour?

within that system everyone keeps their IP and receives royalties

I fail to understand how this would result in any meaningful differences from the current reality.

The work of some is worth, at least fiscally, more than others. I’m not justifying that or defending it. I’m just saying that my work is not as financially valuable as Tim Cook’s (for example), which is easily demonstrated.

The same would occur under this reality. Let’s say I create this awesome new Widget and I retain the rights. The Widget goes on to make my employer billions and I get millions in royalties. That’s effectively our current system.

And what about issues like confidentiality and conflict of interest? If I own my work and my agency decides to do business with, say, Vivendi, then what prevents me from screwing over my agency and giving the same or extremely similar content to, say, Disney?

I’m not asking to rhetorically write off what you say or refute it. These are the questions my mind went to as someone who owns his own small business where creating and manipulating IP for clients is a nontrivial part of our output.

all moot when no one needs your skills anymore. I'm always for founding a company, but that's the only way to stay one step ahead of the machine and it's always a long bet.

I don't know if you're familiar with this American folk legend.. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_(folklore)