A-List Talent and 10,000+ Creators Unite to CAUTION the Dangers of AI-Driven Use of Their Work
The AI Pushback: 10,000 Creators Unite Against Unlicensed Use of Their Work
Imagine a scenario where your favorite movies, music, and books are being used to train AI models without your consent. Sounds scary, right? That’s precisely the concern raised by over 10,000 professional creators, including actors, musicians, writers, and more, who have signed a petition urging against the unlicensed use of their work for training generative AI models.
The Unjust Threat to Creators’ Livelihoods
At the helm of this movement is British composer Ed Newton-Rex, who drafted the statement and set up the signature collection. The impressive list of signatories includes Hollywood stars like Kevin Bacon and Julianne Moore, record-selling musicians and composers like Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus, and best-selling authors Harlan Coben and Ted Chiang. The statement itself is brief and to the point: "The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted."
A Continuum of Creative Concerns
Essentially, the creators are anxious that their copyrighted works are being used without permission to train AI models, which they claim is a violation of various intellectual property laws and regulations. This is not the first instance of this sort of issue. OpenAI, for example, has faced pending lawsuits from writers who claim that ChatGPT infringed on their work. Similarly, music creators are dealing with lawsuits from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and major music labels.
Fair Compensation and Transparency
The creators are also concerned about fair compensation for the use of their work. For instance, Meta paid hefty fees to celebrities for permission to use their voices for its new AI assistant. Without that, these complaints lead to issues, like when OpenAI was accused of mimicking Scarlett Johansson’s voice for ChatGPT, mimicking the movie Her.
Newton-Rex: A Voice of Experience
Newton-Rex knows the AI space well, having formerly worked on generative AI audio models at Stability AI. He left partly because he believed Stability AI went too far in relying on the fair use doctrine for training its models. Now, he runs Fairly Trained, a non-profit organization certifying generative AI companies for fairer training data practices.
The Future of AI Training
The signers hope to push the debate over ethical AI training to the forefront and shape the ultimate form of regulations and laws surrounding the practice. While this may not have an immediate impact on AI tools, it could be a factor in how AI companies design and build their models in the years ahead or whether the current system of creative work compensation looks anything like it does today.
What’s Next?
As the debate surrounding AI training heats up, it’s crucial to stay informed about the latest developments. Keep an eye on our AI coverage for more updates on this story and the broader implications for creators, AI developers, and the industry as a whole.
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