I was curious and read that linked wikipedia article on the monkey selfie, which actually makes it clear that US law pretty much does have an answer to the ques

I was curious and read that linked wikipedia article on the monkey selfie, which actually makes it clear that US law pretty much does have an answer to the question whether an animal can be a copyright owner. The actually interesting part is the fact that these photos/selfie situation were set up specifically by a photographer with their equipment. That is actually the relevant (to AI) portion in all this. If someone sets up all the right pieces but then has a subject or generally "something" else cause the actually creation of the artwork the lines get really blurry. Hypothetically if you set up an elaborate set of machinery guiding an animal/machine/human to paint a picture it wouldn't otherwise be painting, e.g. think elephant with brushes/paint on trunk walks through a guided maze of a huge canvas, the coordinator would not have copyright (by the logic of the monkey case). P.S. While I sympathize with the photographer, the level of butthurt and entitlement is just rich: > Slater was unable to travel to the July 2017 court hearing in the United States for lack of funds and said he was considering alternative careers as a dog walker or tennis coach.[52] "This would be a new venture for me. It would pay peanuts, but at least it would be more than photography. I am just not motivated to go out and take photos any more. I've had outlays of several thousand pounds for lawyers, it is losing me income and getting me so depressed. When I think about the whole situation I really don't think it's worth it."[52] Slater added, "Everything I did to try and highlight the plight of the monkeys has backfired on my private life. I've had my life ruined."[52] They made an initial investment, made good on it, then decided to sue Wikimedia without the necessary funds. This is a very special case and not at all related to the viability of the wildlife photographer profession. Nothing about this means the photographer has to abandon their career and start walking dogs instead.