In its second report on connected technology, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee warns that the Government’s original plan to exempt text and data mining by AI from copyright protection risks reducing arts and cultural production to mere ‘inputs’ in AI development and shows a clear lack of understanding of the needs of the UK’s creative industries.
The report highlights concerns from across the sector about allowing the developers of AI to mine private intellectual property for profit without sharing with the original creators. The CEO of UK Music has described the exemption, proposed by the IPO in June last year, as a ‘green light to music laundering’, while Universal Music has previously warned of ‘widespread and lasting harm’ if creator rights and compensation were undermined by AI.