Key Takeaways
- Citing risks to their livelihoods, more than 13,500 artists signed a petition to stop AI data scraping.
- Actors Kevin Bacon and Julianne Moore, as well as musicians Robert Smith and Max Richter, are notable supporters.
- Stronger protections for artists’ rights and copyright exemptions for AI are the main topics of legal actions and regulatory discussions.
A petition with over 13,500 artists opposing AI data scraping and demanding an end to unapproved exploitation of their work has been signed.
Musicians Thom Yorke and Robert Smith of The Cure, actresses Kevin Bacon and Julianne Moore, Kazuo Ishiguro, Ann Patchett, and Kate Mosse are notable members of this movement. The statement is endorsed by groups like the American Federation of Musicians, SAG-AFTRA, the European Writers’ Council, and Universal Music Group.
The Guardian claims that Ed Newton-Re, a British composer, started the petition by stating that artists are really worried. Because Stability AI felt that utilizing copyrighted data to train AI models without a license was “fair use,” which is a term in US copyright law that permits usage without permission, Newton-Rex, the former head of audio at the company, resigned last year.
Guarding Against AI Data Scraping for Artist Rights
The statement is the result of continuing legal battles between tech corporations and artists over the use of their creations to train ChatGPT and other AI models, which are accused of violating copyright.
In order to train their AI systems, OpenAI and other tech companies frequently take text, photos, and videos from the internet—usually without getting permission, acknowledgment, or payment. According to copyright law, these companies contend that their actions qualify as “fair use.” Nonetheless, content owners are resisting more and more, arguing in court cases and appeals that such practices violate their copyright rights.
Stevie Wonder, Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, R.E.M., and the estates of Frank Sinatra and Bob Marley were among the more than 200 musicians who signed an open letter earlier this year from the Artist Rights Alliance calling on AI businesses and digital music platforms to cease violating the rights of human artists.
Unless artists and publishers want to opt out, a number of lawsuits are pending as US and UK regulators examine copyright exemptions for AI, specifically with regard to data scraping. Given that the majority of individuals are not aware of the opt-out option, Newton-Rex has critiqued it as having flaws.
However, other content publishers have taken a different tack, entering into contracts with AI companies to grant access to their data in return for cash or other advantages.
