The Luddites weren’t anti-technology—they opposed machines that destroyed their livelihoods and benefited factory owners at workers’ expense. Their resistance was a critique of the social and economic chaos caused by the Industrial Revolution. Over time, “Luddite” became an insult due to capitalist propaganda, dismissing their valid concerns about inequality and exploitation. Seen in context, they were early critics of unchecked capitalism and harmful technological change—issues still relevant today.
This isn’t about fees; that’s an unhelpful subversion of the conversations. OpenAI should pay every artist and copyright holder in full for the information they stole. That’s billions of dollars. They should be made unprofitable, or to use your example, Brer Rabbit should be shot.
I do think you have good insight in your last paragraph, though, but that is certainly a separate discussion from ethical training material.