Some forms of copying/uses for a work are permitted by law (eu) or permitted by fair use (us) and thus exempt from permission. Eg. it is generally accepted that

Some forms of copying/uses for a work are permitted by law (eu) or permitted by fair use (us) and thus exempt from permission. Eg. it is generally accepted that you are allowed to download works if you're viewing them in a browser, storing them in a search engine database, or are taking statistical data for a research project. AI companies argue (long story short) that their usage is closest to taking statistical data, and thus doesn't trigger the need for a license. I do realize that some people find this to be a somewhat unfair outcome as is, but A) It is the current law as is. (caveat: we still have to see if the courts actually confirm this particular interpretation) B) I'm not actually sure we should let those people have their way in the first place. Of course, ignorance of the law is no excuse. I feel like some creative folks never actually bothered to learn the laws they were working under, or (more charitably) this turned out to be a corner case, and they were caught by surprise.