Ireland last week took over the presidency of the Council Of The European Union for the next six months, prompting the culture spokesperson of Sinn Féin, Aengus Ó Snodaigh, to table a motion in the Irish parliament calling on the country’s government to use the presidency to “draw attention to and lead efforts to resolve” issues around copyright and artificial intelligence.
He says that the Irish government should also look to introduce new legislation to establish an “appropriate framework” in relation to generative AI and licensing, transparency, fair remuneration and personality rights, while also ensuring that state funding of the arts only goes to human creators, and that the creative industries are represented on the country’s AI Advisory Council.
Ahead of a debate on that motion tomorrow, Ó Snodaigh says that “Irish artists are being ripped off”, because “their copyrighted work is being used, without their consent and without any remuneration, to build systems that spew out ‘AI art’ which directly competes with them”.
Which is why “Sinn Féin is tabling a motion” before the Dáil, the lower house of the Irish parliament, “to demand action both here and at European level to protect the copyright and incomes of artists, to ensure no state funding for art is spent on content produced by AI, and to place the creative sector at the heart of decision-making when it comes to AI policy”.
Sinn Féin is currently the main opposition party in the Dáil and Ó Snodaigh's motion will be discussed during ‘private members business’ tomorrow evening. However, the proposals have been widely welcomed by the Irish music community which is hoping for cross-party support.
That includes Danny O’Donoghue from The Script, who says, “it’s vital that the government backs us on this motion to protect Irish songwriters and composers from the misuse of generative AI. We must stand up for the creators who have dedicated their lives to this craft which is the foundation of Irish culture and give them what they deserve - their consent, fair pay and transparency”.
The EU’s 2024 AI Act did include some provisions calling on generative AI companies to respect copyright and be transparent about what content they have used to train their models.
However, there remain a plethora of concerns within the European music industry - and the wider creative industries - about AI companies exploiting existing works when developing models without the necessary licences in place.
There has also been much criticism over how the transparency obligations in the AI Act have been implemented, and of the text and data mining exception in EU copyright law, which can possibly be relied upon by AI companies when using existing content without a licence. Although that copyright exception does come with an opt-out for rightsholders, many argue it’s not really fit for purpose.
Meanwhile, the move by some AI companies to negotiate licensing deals with record labels and music publishers - including the likes of Udio and Klay - has created new concerns for artists and songwriters. It’s unclear if and when labels and publishers plan to seek artist and writer consent before including their music in those deals, and there’s little transparency on how income will be shared.
Artists and songwriters in Ireland will be hoping that the country’s government will work to address all the various AI concerns, both domestically and, by utilising its current presidency role, within the Council Of The European Union.
Creator organisations The Ivors Academy and the Screen Composers Guild Of Ireland, as well as songwriter collecting society IMRO, are among those backing Ó Snodaigh's motion.
Catherine Martin, Head Of Policy for Ireland at The Ivors Academy says, “Ireland has an opportunity to lead the conversation on creators' rights during its presidency of the Council Of The European Union, and we hope this motion builds momentum for meaningful, practical action. We urge members of Dáil Éireann to support songwriters and composers by voting in support of the motion tomorrow”.
Meanwhile the Screen Composers Guild Of Ireland says in a statement, “we are calling on all parties to support this motion and for a commitment to work towards a safe and fair AI environment for our creators and their audiences, and which protects culture and society as a whole. Technological innovation need not hamper ethical business practice any more than regulation need hamper innovation”.