UK arts must not be sacrificed for speculative AI gains, peers say

The UK’s creative industries must not be sacrificed in the pursuit of speculative gains in AI technology, a House of Lords committee has warned, as the government prepares to reveal the economic cost of proposals to change copyright rules.A report by peers has urged ministers to develop a licensing regime for the use of creative works in AI products and abandon proposals to let tech firms use the work of novelists, artists, writers and journalists without permission.The call from the House of Lords communications and digital committee comes as the government prepares to release an economic impact assessment of proposed changes to copyright law, as well as a progress update on a consultation about the legal overhaul, by a deadline of 18 March.Barbara Keeley, a Labour peer and committee chair, said the UK’s creative industries faced a “clear and present danger” from AI firms using their work without credit or payment.“AI may contribute to our future economic growth, but the UK creative industries create jobs and economic value now,” she said. Official figures show the creative sector contributes £146bn a year to the UK economy.“Watering down the protections in our existing copyright regime to lure the biggest US tech companies is a race to the bottom that does not serve UK interests. We should not sacrifice our creative industries for AI jam tomorrow,” Lady Keeley added.The government has been consulting on a new intellectual property framework for AI. The technology requires vast amounts of data, including copyright-protected work taken from the open web, to develop tools such as chatbots and image generators.However, British artists have responded with outrage at the main government proposal of letting AI firms use copyright-protected work without the owner’s permission – unless the owner has signalled that they want to opt out of the process. Elton John is among the artists who have protested over the prospect of a relaxation in copyright law, calling the government “absolute losers”.The House of Lords report, titled “AI, copyright and the creative industries”, also urges the government to formally rule out the proposal to let AI firms use copyright-protected material. Other recommendations include supporting the development of a licensing market that ensures artists are paid by tech companies for use of their work; backing UK-developed AI models; requiring AI companies to reveal the data they have used to develop their products; and giving creators greater rights-based protection against deepfakes.As well as the main government proposal, ministers have suggested three further options: to leave the situation unchanged; to require AI companies to seek licences for using copyrighted work; or to allow AI firms to use copyrighted work with no opt-out for creative companies and individuals.The government has refused to rule out a copyright waiver for using material for the purposes of “commercial research”, which creative professionals fear could be exploited by AI firms to take artists’ work without permission. The notion of a commercial research exemption was raised in the Lords this week and Fiona Twycross, a minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said it would be “pre-emptive” to rule out any exception before the update report was published.A government spokesperson said: “The government wants a copyright regime that values and protects human creativity, can be trusted, and unlocks innovation.“We welcome the committee’s contributions, and we will continue to engage closely with parliament going forwards.”