Dozens of artists have voiced their opposition to government plans to water down copyright law, which would give tech firms free reign to train artificial intelligence on creatives’ work for free.
The proposals would weaken 300-year-old copyright laws to make it easier for AI companies to operate in the UK.
A consultation, due to end on Tuesday, proposes that tech firms will be allowed to use copyrighted works to train AI software without permission unless the owner opts out.
Big hitters across the arts industries – from Sir Paul McCartney to Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran to Sir Michael Morpurgo – have renounced the plans and called on ministers to prevent AI companies “stealing” copyright from Britain’s creative industries.
Thirty-five artists – including Kate Bush, Helen Fielding, Sheeran and Sting – penned a letter to The Times on Tuesday in which they warned that the plans “represent a wholesale giveaway of rights and income from the UK creative sectors to Big Tech”.
“The proposal is wholly unnecessary and counterproductive, jeopardising not only the country’s international position as a beacon of creativity but also the resulting jobs, economic contribution and soft power,” they wrote.
The plans, they argue, threaten a £126bn industry that employs 2.4 million people in the UK and will “steal the future of the next generation”.
The artists say that Britain’s creative industries “want to play their part in the AI revolution” but to succeed it must be done from a “firm intellectual-property base” or “Britain will lose out on its best growth opportunity”.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and his son Alastair Webber added their voices to the chorus on Tuesday, detailing their opposition to the plans in an Op-ed in The Guardian.
Andrew is a renowned composer and impresario of musical theatre, who has composed 21 musicals including The Phantom of the Opera and Cats, several of which have run for more than a decade in the West End and on Broadway. His son, Alastair, founded the record label The Other Songs.
“Our work has employed thousands globally, nurturing the next generation of talent,” they wrote. “Copyright is the foundation that protects this, and all creative work: from music, theatre and literature to film and art.”
Copyright “underpins the creative economy” by ensuring “creators retain control and are fairly compensated,” they added.
The father-and-son duo warn that if left unregulated, AI will “flood the market with machine-generated imitations, undercutting human creativity and destroying industries that drive jobs, tourism and Britain’s cultural identity”.
“Copyright protections are not a barrier to AI innovation; they are the foundation that allows creators to produce the high-quality work AI depends on.”
A thousand musicians, including Jamiroquai, Bush and Annie Lennox, released a silent album entitled “Is This What We Want?” to underline the potential impact of unfettered AI on artists’ livelihoods.
The album features 12 tracks that are recordings of empty studios and venues, symbolising the void that could result from AI-generated content replacing human creativity. The album will be available on Spotify with all proceeds going to the charity Help Musicians.
It comes as every major UK publisher on Tuesday printed identical front pages, calling for the Government to abandon its plans ahead of the consultation.
A coalition of media and entertainment companies, which between them contribute £126bn to the economy each year, warned that Labour’s efforts to make Britain an AI hub will backfire and hobble the UK economy by stripping companies of control over how what they produce is used.
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