NUJ responds to government report on AI and copyright
The NUJ has welcomed news that the UK government no longer supports an opt-out exception to copyright for artificial intelligence training.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has today (18 March) published its report and impact assessment on the use of copyrighted work in the development of artificial intelligence.
The report states: “Our approach to copyright and AI must enable the transformational benefits of AI, which will support growth and improve living standards, while protecting human creativity and our world-leading creative industries. We will not introduce reforms that do not support this objective.”
An ‘opt-out' exception - which would have allowed developers to scrape creators’ work online to train AI models without active permission from or pay for creators - was supported by just 3% of consultation respondents. The report acknowledges the scale and breadth of opposition, from entertainment superstars to those earning a modest living from their creativity.
The NUJ’s own consultation response opposed an ‘opt-out’ exception and called for a simple, revocable opt-in mechanism for individual and collective licencing.
The union also supported clear labelling of AI-generated content and joined sister unions in calling for transparency over the use of members’ work in AI training, urgent regulatory oversight to protect workers’ rights, and enforcement of existing copyright laws to allow creators to seek compensation for unauthorised theft of their work.
The report states that the government believes “right holders should be fairly remunerated” for their work and “agrees that greater transparency about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help right holders assert their rights.” It also foresees a greater focus on the needs of individual creators - including journalists and photographers.
The government also acknowledges that “labelling content so it is clear whether it has been made using AI [...] may help protect against disinformation and harmful deepfakes,” though it does not propose to introduce regulatory oversight on transparency “at this time”.
The government has said that issues around transparent labelling, copyright enforcement and licencing require further consultation and engagement. 81% of respondents expressed support for strengthened copyright laws requiring licencing for AI development, while over 90% agreed that AI developers should disclose the sources of their training material.
Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said:
“This is a very welcome change in approach. Organisations and workers across the creative industries have been united in opposing an ‘opt-out’ exception and we are pleased the government has seen sense and listened to those concerns.
“The unregulated deployment of artificial intelligence is not an abstract threat but a real danger across our sector, with members reporting increased drudgery, ‘content’ demands, and the largescale theft of their work.
“The deployment of AI must be based on the principles of worker control, consent and compensation, and we are pleased the government recognises that creatives must be fairly paid for their work.
“We urge the government to continue engaging meaningfully with the NUJ, our members, and sister unions through the Broadcasting, Entertainment & Arts Unions so that the voices of workers are represented in future government engagements and working groups.”