Paul McCartney, Ed Sheeran, Sting, and other cultural icons in the United Kingdom argued that the copyright-related legislation being promoted by the UK government would encourage corporations to exploit the creations of artificial intelligence (AI) without permission, and that this should be prevented.
More than 30 figures in the UK cultural sector noted in an op-ed published in The Times on the 25th (local time) that “the government proposal exempting Silicon Valley from complying with creators' copyright when establishing AI platforms essentially hands over the rights and revenues of the UK’s creative institutional sector to big tech.”
Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, author Stephen Fry, musical maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber, and conductor Simon Rattle were among those who contributed.
According to the government proposal they pointed out, AI developers can utilize creations found on the internet for model development unless the copyright holder directly requests them not to use their works through an 'opt-out.'
The UK government is pushing a 'Data (Usage and Access) Bill' that contains extensive provisions on the use of customer and corporate data, as well as personal data processing. This is based on the need to invigorate the UK tech industry to promote economic growth.
Cultural professionals are opposing the bill, arguing that it would allow AI companies to easily utilize copyrighted works for AI software training without a license.
There is a belief that it is difficult for individual artists or writers to monitor numerous AI services and notify the companies regarding their works not to be used.
Cultural stars emphasized in The Times op-ed that “the government proposal creates a loophole in the moral rights that allow creators to freely present their works,” noting that it “would undermine the copyright system that has been in place for 300 years.”
They added, “The creative industry contributes £126 billion (228 trillion won) annually to the UK economy, supports 2.4 million jobs, powers tourism, and enhances global standing,” asserting that “there is no moral or economic justification for stealing our copyrights.”