The BPI has responded to the UK government’s newly-published AI Opportunities Action Plan.
The UK-wide initiative is backed by tech firms, some of which have committed £14 billion towards various projects, according to the government.
However, there are concerns in the creative sector, particularly with the launch of a government consultation last month that proposes introducing an exception to copyright law for AI training for commercial purposes, while allowing rights-holders to reserve their rights, so they can control the use of their content.
In the AI Opportunities Action Plan document, one of the objectives is to “reform the UK text and data mining regime so that it is at least as competitive as the EU”.
“The current uncertainty around intellectual property (IP) is hindering innovation and undermining our broader ambitions for AI, as well as the growth of our creative industries,” it states. “This has gone on too long and needs to be urgently resolved. The EU has moved forward with an approach that is designed to support AI innovation while also enabling rights holders to have control over the use of content they produce. The UK is falling behind.”
“Delivering our AI vision for Britain requires lots of hard work, some tough choices, and a commitment to real partnership between public and private sectors,” said Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology.
AI’s potential can be realised by growing both the creative and AI sectors, without resorting to destroying the UK's status as a creative superpower
Jo Twist
"While there is much to welcome in the ambitions of the AI Action Plan to improve public services and ways of working, this publication does nothing to explain why upending our gold standard copyright system is required to achieve these goals,” said BPI CEO Dr Jo Twist OBE. “AI’s potential can be realised by growing both the creative and AI sectors, without resorting to destroying the UK's status as a creative superpower.
“We remain unclear as to why AI firms should be allowed to plunder the creative industries, taking music for their own profit without authorisation or compensation, or how this would support the public service outcomes the government is pursuing.”
Twist added: “The Prime Minister told Parliament before Christmas that they would ‘carefully consider’ responses to its consultation, and that the creative industries ‘have been the unsung heroes of our economy for far too long’. Government must heed its own promise and ensure there is genuine consultation to recognise and meaningfully address the grave concerns being raised across the UK’s £125 billion-per-year creative industries."
In a statement, the Creative Rights in AI Coalition said: “Following the Prime Minister’s broad commitment to take forward the Plan’s recommendations, we call on the government to provide assurances that all options in the Copyright and AI Consultation – including enforcing the existing copyright regime with transparency provisions – remain on the table.
“It is deeply concerning to see the EU approach looked to as a regime that the UK should mirror. The EU is still working out how to implement its EU AI Act and there are persistent questions over the workability of their opt-out regime. This serves as a real-time warning for the government about imitating regimes that have shown no signs of being effective. The UK should learn from the EU regime’s shortcomings, not blindly imitate it.
“Furthermore, there is no ‘uncertainty’ in the UK text and data mining regime: it is clear that UK copyright law does not allow text and data mining for commercial purposes without a licence. The only uncertainty is around who has been using the UK’s creative crown jewels as training material without permission and how they got hold of it, making transparency provisions vital.”
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