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New York Times
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Their Album is Wordless. Will Their Protest Against A.I. Resound?
Sometimes, silence speaks louder than song. That's the hope, at least, for more than 1,000 musicians who released a lyric-less album on Tuesday to protest the British government's proposal to expand the ways that developers can use copyright-protected works to train artificial intelligence models. The album, which was created by artists including Annie Lennox, Billy Ocean, Hans Zimmer and Kate Bush, is not exactly silent: It features recordings of empty studios, which the artists say represent 'the impact we expect the government's proposals would have on musicians' livelihoods.' There are footsteps and rustles — is that a door closing? a page turning? a fly? — but only the most out-there contemporary composers would refer to the sounds as songs. 'Doesn't that silence say it all?' Kate Bush, who contributed to the album, said in a statement, adding, 'If these changes go ahead, the life's work of all the country's musicians will be handed over to A.I. companies for free.' Under the government's proposals, artists would have to opt out, or 'reserve their rights,' to keep their works from being used to train A.I. The window for public comments on the proposal, which is part of a broader government consultation on copyright and artificial intelligence, was set to close Tuesday night. 'Opt-out shifts the burden of controlling your works onto the rights holder,' said Ed Newton-Rex, who organized the album and is the chief executive of Fairly Trained, a nonprofit that certifies generative A.I. companies for the training data they use. 'Basically,' he said, of the current government proposal, 'it flips copyright on its head.' Even as some artists experiment with artificial intelligence, many fear that developers are inappropriately using their work without compensating them. (Publishers and journalists are also concerned: The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. OpenAI and Microsoft have denied those claims.) The album — titled 'Is This What We Want?' — has 12 songs, each of which has a one-word title that together spell out the sentence: 'The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit A.I. companies.' Only some of the artists who were part of the album project directly contributed to the audio, Mr. Newton-Rex said, although he said that all shared in the credits. Mr. Newton-Rex and other critics fear that artists may not even know if their work is being used to train the A.I. models. He said that he had previously run opt-out schemes at generative A.I. companies, which he called an 'illusion,' in part because copyrighted work can spread so quickly online that creators can lose control of it. Powerful A.I. developers have repeatedly shown that they are willing to skirt copyright law to train systems. And Britain, desperate to revive its sluggish economy, is aggressively trying to court A.I. developers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently said he plans to push Britain to be 'the world leader.' The country has already signaled its willingness to break with the European Union and some of its other allies, like Australia and Canada, in its attitude to the technology. At a recent A.I. summit in Paris, Britain sided with the United States in declining to sign a communiqué calling for A.I. to be 'inclusive and sustainable.' Now, Britain is arguing that a 'competitive copyright regime' is part of what is needed to 'build cutting-edge, secure and sustainable A.I. infrastructure.' The proposals, which were announced late last year, call the current system unclear and say that it is hampering innovation for both A.I. developers and artists. Britain argues that the proposed changes are meant to give artists more control over the way their work is used and more opportunities for payment. In response to a request for comment, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said that Britain's current copyright structure is holding both artists and A.I. companies back from full innovation. But it also noted that no decisions had been finalized and that it would consider the responses it received before setting out next steps. Britain's consultation process, in which the government asks for public input at the early stages of policy proposals, is designed to take in feedback and often leads to revisions. As the consultation period ended on Tuesday, British artists and publishers released a series of protests. Several newspapers featured identical campaign images across their front pages that read: 'Make it fair: The government wants to change the U.K.'s laws to favor big tech platforms so they can use British creative content.' The musicians Paul McCartney, Elton John and Dua Lipa, the novelist Kazuo Ishiguro and the actor Stephen Fry were among the artists who signed a letter in protest that was published in The Times of London. 'There is no moral or economic argument for stealing our copyright,' the artists wrote. 'Taking it away will devastate the industry and steal the future of the next generation.'
The Independent
25-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
UK creative industries launch campaign against AI tech firms' content use
The UK 's creative industries have launched a new campaign to fight back against their content being used for free by global tech AI firms. Campaigners have warned that the arts face an 'existential threat' from AI models which scrape creative content from the internet without permission or payment. It comes at the end of a government consultation which will determine whether to let tech companies use content without permission unless the creators specifically say 'no'. Those affected could include artists, authors, journalists, illustrators, photographers, filmmakers, scriptwriters, singers and songwriters, who argue that they will now have to police their work. The campaign has stressed that if the government legitimises this use of content, the impact will be devastating on an industry which collectively brings in £120bn per year to the UK economy. Throughout the next week, media outlets will run the 'Make It Fair' campaign with the message: 'The government wants to change the UK's laws to favour big tech platforms so they can use British creative content to power their AI models without our permission or payment. Let's protect the creative industries – it's only fair.' Launching the campaign today, Owen Meredith, CEO of News Media Association, said: 'We already have gold-standard copyright laws in the UK. They have underpinned growth and job creation in the creative economy across the UK – supporting some of the world's greatest creators – artists, authors, journalists, scriptwriters, singers and songwriters to name but a few. 'And for a healthy democratic society, copyright is fundamental to publishers' ability to invest in trusted quality journalism. 'The only thing which needs affirming is that these laws also apply to AI, and transparency requirements should be introduced to allow creators to understand when their content is being used. Instead, the government proposes to weaken the law and essentially make it legal to steal content. 'There will be no AI innovation without the high-quality content that is the essential fuel for AI models. We're appealing to the great British public to get behind our 'Make It Fair' campaign and call on the government to guarantee creatives are able to secure proper financial reward from AI firms to ensure a sustainable future for both AI and the creative industries.' Launching a music industry campaign to coincide with the 'Make It Fair' campaign, choral composer Ed Newton-Rex, founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for training data practices that respect creators' rights, said: 'One thousand UK musicians released a joint album today, recordings of empty studios, calling on the government to change course or risk empty studios becoming the norm. 'The government's proposals would hand the life's work of the UK's talented creators – its musicians, its writers, its artists – to AI companies, for free. The government must change course and make it fair.'
Voice of America
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Voice of America
Musicians release silent album to protest UK's AI copyright changes
More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain's copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce their own output after being trained on popular works without necessarily paying the creators of the original content. Britain, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to become an AI superpower, has proposed relaxing laws that currently give creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways their material may be used. The proposed changes would allow AI developers to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access, and would require creators to proactively opt out to stop their work being used. The changes have been heavily criticized by many artists, who say it would reverse the principle of copyright law, which grants exclusive control to creators for their work. "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?" said Bush, whose 1985 hit "Running Up That Hill" enjoyed a resurgence in 2022 thanks to Netflix show "Stranger Things." The co-written album titled "Is This What We Want?" features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces to represent what organizers say is the potential impact on artists' livelihoods should the changes go ahead. A public consultation on the legal changes closes later on Tuesday. Responding to the album, a government spokesperson said the current copyright and AI regime was holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from "realizing their full potential." "We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so. No decisions have been taken," the spokesperson said, adding that the government's proposals will be set out in due course. Annie Lennox, Billy Ocean, Hans Zimmer, Tori Amos and The Clash are among the musicians urging the government to review its plans. "The government's proposal would hand the life's work of the country's musicians to AI companies, for free, letting those companies exploit musicians' work to outcompete them," said organizer Ed Newton-Rex, the founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for fairer training data practices. "The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus."
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Musicians release silent album to protest UK's AI copyright changes
By Sam Tabahriti LONDON (Reuters) - More than 1,000 musicians including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens on Tuesday released a silent album to protest proposed changes to Britain's copyright laws which could allow tech firms to train artificial intelligence models using their work. Creative industries globally are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce their own output after being trained on popular works without necessarily paying the creators of the original content. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Britain, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to become an AI superpower, has proposed relaxing laws that currently give creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways their material may be used. The proposed changes would allow AI developers to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access, and would require creators to proactively opt out to stop their work being used. The changes have been heavily criticised by many artists, who say it would reverse the principle of copyright law, which grants exclusive control to creators for their work. "In the music of the future, will our voices go unheard?," said Bush, whose 1985 hit "Running Up That Hill" enjoyed a resurgence in 2022 thanks to Netflix show "Stranger Things". The co-written album titled "Is This What We Want?" features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces to represent what organisers say is the potential impact on artists' livelihoods should the changes go ahead. A public consultation on the legal changes closes later on Tuesday. Responding to the album, a government spokesperson said the current copyright and AI regime was holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from "realising their full potential." "We have engaged extensively with these sectors throughout and will continue to do so. No decisions have been taken," the spokesperson said, adding that the government's proposals will be set out in due course. Annie Lennox, Billy Ocean, Hans Zimmer, Tori Amos and The Clash are among the musicians urging the government to review its plans. "The government's proposal would hand the life's work of the country's musicians to AI companies, for free, letting those companies exploit musicians' work to outcompete them," said organiser Ed Newton-Rex, the founder of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for fairer training data practices. "The UK can be leaders in AI without throwing our world-leading creative industries under the bus." ($1 = 0.7913 pounds)
CNN
11-02-2025
- Business
- CNN
Thousands call on Christie's to cancel AI art auction in open letter
Nearly 4,000 people have signed an open letter calling on Christie's New York to cancel an upcoming sale dedicated solely to art created with artificial intelligence (AI) — the first of its kind for a major auction house — over concerns that the programs used to create some generative digital pieces are trained on copyrighted work and exploit human artists. The online letter began circulating Saturday, the day after the Christie's Augmented Intelligence sale was announced. The sale, which the auction house expects will bring in more than $600,000, includes work by artists Refik Anadol, Harold Cohen, Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, Alexander Reben and Claire Silver. The more than 20 lots in the sale span five decades, and roughly one quarter are digitally native works like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to Christie's. Examples of other works in the auction include light boxes and screens, as well as sculptures, paintings and prints. Bidding is scheduled to begin February 20 and run until March 5. At publishing, the letter calling on Christie's to halt the auction had 3,936 signatures attached. The authors largely take issue with the AI models used to create some of the works in the sale, which they say were trained on copyrighted works without their creators' authorization. 'These models, and the companies behind them, exploit human artists, using their work without permission or payment to build commercial AI products that compete with them,' the letter reads. 'Your support of these models, and the people who use them, rewards and further incentivizes AI companies' mass theft of human artists' work.' The use of artists' copyrighted work to train generative AI models that power programs like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and Dall-E have resulted in lawsuits against the technology companies creating the software. Artists say their work has been used by the AI programs to train models without their permission or financial compensation. The technology companies defend themselves by citing fair use, which allows for the use of some copyrighted material without permission in some cases. 'Why are Christie's condoning these models by helping sell these works for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, when the models are directly leading to the impoverishment of so many artists that they've stolen from?' Ed Newton-Rex, the chief executive of Fairly Trained, a non-profit that certifies generative AI companies for fairer data sourcing, wrote on X. The letter is addressed to Christie's digital art specialists Nicole Sales Giles and Sebastian Sanchez, who are heading up the auction. In a statement, a spokesperson for the auction house told The Art Newspaper: 'The artists represented in this sale all have strong, existing multidisciplinary art practices, some recognized in leading museum collections. The works in this auction are using artificial intelligence to enhance their bodies of work.' Sarp Kerem Yavuz, an artist whose practice sometimes incorporates AI and whose work is included in the Christie's sale (and a contributor to The Art Newspaper), says the idea that AI-generated art is theft is based on a misunderstanding of the data sets used in such work. 'Most AI-generated images result from the combination of millions — literally millions — of images, which means no single artist can claim that an image of a meadow, a heroic knight, a cat or a flower was based on their specific creation,' he wrote in a statement. 'AI-generated images mimic human inspiration in many ways — they're just more efficient at parsing through information.' As AI technology advances and becomes more integrated into day-to-day life, laws regarding copyright and fair use are struggling to keep up. Last month, the US Copyright Office ruled that artists can copyright work they created using AI tools, but that 'purely AI-generated material' remains ineligible for protections. Read more stories from The Art Newspaper here.
