Ministers are facing a huge backlash over plans to allow artificial intelligence companies to collect content from publishers and artists, amid claims the government is at risk of “causing” to tech giants.
The BBC is one of the groups opposing plans to allow tech companies to use online content to train artificial intelligence models by default, unless publishers and other content creators explicitly ‘opt out’. It’s one.
A series of conferences and roundtables are planned to allay concerns on what is becoming one of the first major AI policy battles. Some Whitehall insiders are concerned that publishers have not had enough say in discussions so far, but any announcements are on hold until after this week’s budget. .
The government is desperate to attract investment from tech companies in a bid to grow the economy, with ministers already announcing total investment in UK data centers will exceed £25bn since the election. But Google warned last month that the UK risks being left behind unless it builds more data centers and allows tech companies to use copyrighted works in their AI models.
Apart from ownership issues, some publishers are concerned that opt-out systems are impractical as they may not know when their material will be scraped and by which companies. . Small publishers say they face an “existential threat” if their work is used to train AI models. They say an “opt-in” system would at least give them more leverage to agree to license terms similar to those already signed by major companies for AI to access their material. claims.
The BBC said in a statement that its content should not be used to train AI models without permission and that it had no agreements in place for companies to do so. “When it comes to AI, it’s important that publishers and media companies maintain control over how their content is used,” a spokesperson told the Observer. “The responsibility for seeking permission to use content should remain with AI developers, rather than publishers opting out.”
Mumsnet founder Justin Roberts, who has brought legal action against OpenAI over allegations of content scraping, said the system being considered by ministers would “prompt homeowners with notices asking them not to rob their homes”. “It’s the same thing as requiring people to post signs outside, which is a failure.” The contents of their house are fair. ”
Furthermore, she added: “It appears that some governments are drinking the Kool-Aid and believing the rather forced narrative that everything needs to be eliminated to ensure the rapid development of AI. However, they should be mindful of Big Tech’s greed for control and money, and what they destroy in the process.
Owen Meredith, chief executive of the News Media Association, said the opt-out system would be a “devastating blow to the creative industries that have been the engine of growth in the UK economy for more than a decade”.
Chris Dicker, director of the Independent Publishers Alliance, said: ‘Using anything posted online without explicit consent is a direct threat to privacy. An opt-out approach alone is not enough. We need to intervene before it’s too late, resist the lobbying efforts of big tech companies, and put in place strict safeguards.”
However, some within Whitehall argue that the opt-out system is the one adopted in the EU through the AI Act, adding that the UK could learn from that mechanism.
This uproar is a sign of the fundamental changes that are occurring following the arrival of AI chatbots. In the past, publishers were willing to hand over access to their material to search engines in exchange for readers and viewers. However, chatbot users can receive all the information they need without having to look at the original publisher’s work.
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Last week, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus and actor Julianne Moore were among those in the creative industry who warned that the unauthorized use of their work by AI companies was a “serious and unwarranted threat” to artists’ livelihoods. He was among 10,500 people who signed the statement.
A government spokesperson said: “This is an area that requires thoughtful engagement and as part of that we are determined to hear a wide range of views to inform our approach.”
“We continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders, including recent roundtables with AI developers and creative industry representatives, and we will set out next steps as soon as possible.”
