The Chair of the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee in the UK Parliament has called on the government to urgently reconsider its approach in dealing with the copyright challenges created by generative AI, stressing that “woolly words” from ministers in government reports are no help to creators and copyright owners, including in the music industry.
Caroline Dinenage MP made her comments following confirmation that the Intellectual Property Office has shelved a planned code of practice on copyright and AI after failing to negotiate an agreement between the creative industries and key AI companies.
“We’re disappointed by [the] announcement that the government’s working group of AI developers and creative industries will not be able to agree a voluntary code on AI and intellectual property", the MP said in a statement. "The creative industries have long been raising concerns that their intellectual property is being unfairly used to train AI systems without consent and without compensation. The lack of even a voluntary code will not allay these concerns".
"Woolly words from ministers will not provide rightsholders with certainty that their rights will be respected", she added. "The government must urgently reconsider its approach and bring forward a way of compensating creators for the use of their works in AI development, to ensure mutual benefits for both sectors".
Reports circulated earlier this week that attempts by the IPO to negotiate a voluntary code of practice regarding the copyright obligations of AI companies had failed. That was then confirmed yesterday in a new report from the government providing an update on its plans for regulating AI. The report summarises the findings of a consultation that was undertaken following a previous white paper on AI regulation, as well as providing some other updates.
The IPO working group on copyright and AI, it says, "has provided a valuable forum for stakeholders to share their views. Unfortunately, it is now clear that the working group will not be able to agree an effective voluntary code".
As a result, ministers in the Department For Science Innovation And Technology and the Department For Culture, Media And Sport will "now lead a period of engagement with the AI and rightsholder sectors, seeking to ensure the workability and effectiveness of an approach that allows the AI and creative sectors to grow together in partnership".
That’s a good way of not really saying anything. Worry not though, because, the report confirms, "the government is committed to the growth of our world-leading creative industries and we recognise the importance of ensuring AI development supports, rather than undermines, human creativity, innovation, and the provision of trustworthy information".
The creative industries, including the music industry, want clarity from the government that technology companies using existing content to train generative AI models must first get permission from the relevant copyright owners. Many AI companies argue that no such permission is required because AI training is covered by copyright exceptions in at least some countries or the principle of 'fair use' under American law.
Copyright owners also want AI companies to be more transparent about what content they are using when training models. On that the government is a little more bold. The planned engagement with the AI and rightsholder sectors, it says, "will need to be underpinned by trust and transparency between parties, with greater transparency from AI developers in relation to data inputs and the attribution of outputs having an important role to play".
"Our work will therefore also include exploring mechanisms for providing greater transparency so that rightsholders can better understand whether content they produce is used as an input into AI models", it goes on. "The government wants to work closely with rightsholders and AI developers to deliver this".