A British parliamentary committee is pressuring the government to scrap plans to allow artificial intelligence developers to freely train their systems on existing works of music, literature and art.
In a report dated 30 August, the Culture, Media and Sport Commission warned that the government’s initial plan to exclude text and data mining from AI from copyright protection “could lead to the reduction of artistic and cultural production to AI ‘investment’ in development”, and revealed a “clear lack of understanding” of the needs of creators in the UK.
The report says the UK government, currently led by pro-AI Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, must work to “re-earn the trust of the creative industries” after a “failed attempt” to introduce exemptions for AI developers .
The committee, a bipartisan group of 11 members of the UK parliament, urged Sunak to strengthen protections for artists so their likenesses are protected amid the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence.
No country is immune to AI, and no country can address the challenges posed by this technology alone.
So we need an international approach.
This is exactly what our AI Safety Summit aims to achieve. https://t.co/OLohnrhZ2M
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) August 24, 2023
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the committee, said in an accompanying press release, “Musicians, writers and artists speak in unison to warn of real and lasting harm. [and] In a world of growing artificial intelligence influence, failure to protect intellectual property rights should be enough to get ministers’ attention. “
In its report, the committee concluded that government departments “need to better understand the impact of AI and wider technologies on the creative industries, and to be able to defend their interests consistently.”
related: Consumer survey shows growing mistrust of AI and the companies that use it
It appears that the Commission is not alone on this issue. Last July, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, chief executive of UK Music, the UK’s largest commercial music advocacy group, described the government’s current approach as “giving the green light to music money laundering”.
“AI has both enormous benefits and disruptive impacts.”
Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, Chief Executive, Music UK @matfrey Generative AI should be used to augment the music industry — not replace humans. pic.twitter.com/3TtglAhx08
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) May 16, 2023
In February 2023, the music label Universal Music also warned that allowing artificial intelligence to freely access existing music and artwork would cause “widespread and lasting harm” and undermine the rights of creators.
On Aug. 20, the U.K. government outlined plans to spend $130 million on thousands of new computer chips to build up an “artificial intelligence research resource” by mid-2024. The move is part of Sunak’s broader plan to turn the country into a world-leading hub for artificial intelligence technology.
Magazine: Experts want to give AI humans a ‘soul’ so they don’t kill us all
