A coalition of creative industry groups and individuals in the United States has launched a campaign calling for the rights of creators to be respected in the face of AI companies using their works without consent to train models.

Although launched in the United States, the Human Artistry Campaign and others like it will no doubt be closely watched in the UK, where policymakers are grappling with many of the same questions about how copyright law should respond to generative AI. As we still await the Government’s response to its recent consultation on AI and copyright, and the unrelenting pressure from the creative industries to protect their works only builds, experiences in other jurisdictions will no doubt inform the debate. Indeed, in a recent hearing before the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee, it was put to the Culture and Science Secretaries that the UK might follow Australia’s lead in ruling out a broad text and data-mining exception.

On a more practical level, the policies adopted by US-based AI developers (whether through legislation, industry pressure, or a combination of the two) are also likely to set de facto standards for training practices and licensing models.

In terms of the message from the most recent campaign, “Stealing Isn’t Innovation”, it is simple: that large tech companies are using the works of creators to build AI platforms without authorisation or regard for copyright law. As the signatories – many of whom are household names – put it: “stealing our work is not innovation. It’s not progress. It’s theft – plain and simple”.

The statement also points to an alternative, “better way” to ensure that both the AI and creative industries can continue to develop successfully, namely through licensing deals and partnerships. This, it is argued, means that “it is possible to have it all. We can have advanced, rapidly developing AI and ensure that creators’ rights are respected”.

To read the statement in full, click here.