TECH giants must be stopped from ripping off musicians, writers and news publishers when using their material to train artificial intelligence systems, ministers have been warned.
The Government today launched a consultation on how AI can use copyrighted work of the UK’s top talent to train the models.
Fury is growing that Ministers want to allow tech chiefs to freely use the copyright material unless the creators opt out.
The plan has been blasted as a hammer blow for the UK’s £126bn creative industry.
Baroness Beeban Kidron, an expert in AI ethics, said: “If you continue to let AI companies scrape copyrighted work without payment then it destroys the ability to making a living.
“The creative community want to work with AI, want to engage with tech – but they want to be paid for what they do.
“The government consultation is too little, too late and too in the pocket of the tech sector.”
Leading filmmakers, singers and authors have warned that there are already strict copyright laws that protect content and all the government should do is figure out how to strictly enforce them.
They want to ensure tech tycoons who benefit from Britain’s top talents pay up for it.
Tory Shadow Technology Secretary Alan Mak accused his counterpart Peter Kyle of “dither and delay” on the pressing issue.
He said: “Labour are subjecting the industry to dither and delay, and potentially two years of uncertainty as they launch yet another consultation, placing us behind our competitors.”
Chair of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Caroline Dineage, said she’s heard “widespread concerns” about how copyrighted works are being used to train AI without consent or compensation.
She insisted that “any final proposals ensure creators’ rights are respected”.
Owen Meredith, chief executive of the News Media Association, said: “News publishers deserve control over when and how their content is used and, crucially, fair remuneration for its use.
“Instead of proposing unworkable systems such as the ‘rights reservations’ (or ‘opt-out’) regime, the government should focus on implementing transparency requirements within the existing copyright framework.
“Only this will ensure that creatives and the AI firms that rely on them for high-quality data can thrive together.”
