AI campaigners urge government pledge to protect copyright

A new coalition of creative rights holders has called on government to adopt its principles around protection of copyright ahead of a consultation on artificial intelligence (AI), as a means of allowing both sectors to “flourish and grow”.

Creative Rights In AI includes publishers, authors, artists, music businesses, specialist interest publications, unions and photographers. The group has unveiled three principles that it wants UK government to adopt as a framework for developing AI policy, ahead of a consultation on the issue.

The principles aim to develop a “mutually beneficial , dynamic licensing system” with a “robust mechanism” to ensure accountability and compliance of generative AI developers in line with UK copyright law.

Creative Rights In AI wants government policy to focus on a dynamic licensing market with protections for copyright, control and transparency for content creators which, it says, will help drive growth and innovation in the creative and tech sectors.

‘Copyright law is the key to growth’

The announcement follows publication of new nationally representative public polling from Reset Tech and YouGov which found that 72% of respondents thought AI companies should be required to pay royalties to the creators of text, audio or video that they use to train AI models.

Meanwhile 80% of respondents said AI companies should be required to make public all the information their models have been trained on.

In the statement the coalition said: “The UK’s world-leading creative and tech sectors put it in a unique position to set a global standard for how both sectors can innovate together and continue to provide high quality services.

“Protecting copyright and building a dynamic licensing market for the use of creative content in building generative AI isn’t just a question of fairness: it’s the only way that both sectors will flourish and grow.

“The UK creative industries generate well over £100 billion annually. We have, quite literally, earned the right to have our voice heard. The key to that success, and future growth, is copyright law.”

The coalition added: “We support the government’s mission for long-term, secure growth in the creative and tech sectors. We are eager to see the development of a vibrant licensing market and support the sectors which rely on us for their future prosperity, but we can only do so with a robust copyright framework which preserves our exclusive rights to control our works and thereby act as a safeguard against misuse.

“Ours is a positive vision, a vision of collaboration between the creative industries and generative AI developers, where we can all flourish in the online marketplace. We call on the government and the tech sector to join us in building a future that values, protects, and promotes human creativity.”

‘A split in motivation?’

Last week Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was questioned about her preference for an opt-in or an opt-out model for the protection of creatives in the development of AI and rights.

During a meeting of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Labour MP James Frith asked Nandy if there was a split in motivation on the issue between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

“For creatives, the top of that risk register is the threat posed by artificial intelligence and a government attracted by and to the shiny thing on the hill at the expense of what we all have, what we all enjoy and everything else now,” said Firth.

“They see it pretty clearly as opt-in is what they hope for. Opt-out is what the speculation is that the government are focusing on.

“What assurances can you give the sector that give us everything we enjoy about the sector as of now, that we are not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater in pursuit of something that feels very exciting maybe, very glossy, high energy, high growth, but forfeits much of what we celebrate about the thing right now?”

In response Nandy said, “Let me reassure you first of all that we take very seriously the right of people to proper remuneration for their own work.”

She continued: “We are doing a specific consultation on AI in the creative industries. We have looked at legislation in other parts of the world, and in particular we think the EU legislation offers too blunt an instrument to properly protect artists.

“We are about to go out to consultation, genuine consultation, to make sure that we can get this balance right.

“We are determined to get the balance right. We think that if we do, we really could be pioneers in this and provide a model that other countries will want to follow.”

Pushing the issue, Frith asked if there was “a risk that one department is clearly motivated – or should be – by the opt-in argument and the other is motivated by the opt-out, with Chris Bryant in the middle?” To which Nandy responded: “There is no split between our Department and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on this issue”.

Nandy went on to say that the consultation would be “imminent”, adding that government “genuinely has not made a decision about the best way to go about this, and it is something that is top of the pile for Minister Bryant to deal with”.