The UK’s creative industries must not be sacrificed for speculative profits 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 peer report urged ministers to develop a licensing regime for the use of creative works in AI products and abandon proposals to allow technology companies to use the work of novelists, artists, writers and journalists without permission.
The call from the House of Lords digital and communications committee comes as the government prepares to publish an assessment of the economic impact of proposed changes to copyright law, as well as an update on the progress of a consultation on legal reform, by March 18.
Barbara Keeley, a Labor MP and committee chair, said the UK’s creative industries faced a “clear and present danger” of AI companies using their work without credit or payment.
“AI can contribute to our future economic growth, but the UK’s creative industries create jobs and economic value now,” he said. Official figures show the creative sector contributes £146bn a year to the UK economy.
“Reducing the protections of our current copyright regime to attract the biggest US tech companies is a race to the bottom that does not serve the UK’s interests. We should not sacrifice our creative industries for the AI of tomorrow,” added Lady Keeley.
The government has been consulting on a new intellectual property framework for AI. The technology requires large amounts of data, including copyrighted works pulled from the open web, to develop tools such as chatbots and image generators.
However, British artists have responded with outrage to the government’s major proposal to allow AI companies to use copyrighted works without the owner’s permission, unless the owner has indicated they want to opt out of the process. Elton John is among artists who have protested at the prospect of a relaxation of copyright law, calling the government “absolute losers”.
The House of Lords report, titled “AI, copyright and the creative industries”, also calls on the government to formally scrap the proposal to allow AI companies to use copyrighted material. Other recommendations include supporting the development of a licensing market that ensures that technology companies pay artists for the use of their work; support AI models developed in the UK; requiring AI companies to disclose the data they have used to develop their products; and provide creators with greater rights-based protection against deepfakes.
In addition to the government’s main proposal, ministers have suggested three further options: leaving the situation unchanged; require AI companies to apply for licenses to use copyrighted works; or allow AI companies to use copyrighted works without the ability to opt-out for creative companies and individuals.
The government has refused to rule out a copyright exemption for the use of material for “commercial research” purposes, which creative professionals fear could be exploited by artificial intelligence companies to take artists’ work without permission. The notion of an exemption for commercial research was raised before the Lords this week and Fiona Twycross, minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said it would be “preventive” to rule out any exemption before the updated 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 will continue to work closely with parliament in the future.”
