> Many AI critics complain that AI steals copyrighted content, but prior to 2023, leftists have been largely anti-intellectual-property on principle (either because they’re anti-property, or because they characterize copyright as benefiting huge media corporations and patent trolls).

Yes, and that's half the switcheroo.

The other half is that prior to 2023, tech corporations purported to be dead against stealing copyrighted material.

Liberals are embracing IP because their friends are artists whom they see as victimized, and because they see AI companies declare that rapaciously consuming petabytes of copyrighted material and regurgitating it in massaged from is "fair use".

Liberals are against IP when it's used as a tool of multinational corporations to oppress the Little Guy.

Liberals are pro IP when excuses that amount to a disregard of IP are used to rob Little Guy creators.

Ultimately, everyone is conservative in politics in that sense of the word that they want everything to conform to their views and then stay that way.