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This article is part of our Opinions section.
Large language models need data to be trained. By data, I mean articles, books, songs and photographs, among all the other content created by humans. That has long been protected in law by copyright, but MPs in the UK are dead set on dismantling that system to enable AI.
This debate currently centres on the Data (Use and Access) Bill, in which the UK Government hopes to allow AI companies to use copyrighted materials for training unless the rights holders opt out. The House of Lords tried to change that to AI companies requiring explicit consent, essentially an opt-in, but that last week was dumped when the bill went back to the House of Commons.
That means artists and creators may have to pre-emptively opt out to avoid their copyright being broken by tech companies seeking to train their models.
The question many are asking: why are MPs being such “absolute losers” about this? (Those aren’t my words, that’s some guy named Elton John.)
What’s behind MPs siding with tech over artists and creators? Tech secretary Peter Kyle accused the arts industry of “resisting change”, as though this was merely a case of content creators being luddites.
Another argument comes via former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who followed up cutting a deal between his own Lib Dems and the Tories by taking a job as a lobbyist for Meta, the company that owns Facebook. Clegg argues that asking for prior consent from all rights holders is just too much of a burden for the companies trying to automate everything and would “basically kill the AI industry in this country overnight”.
But all other industries have to ask first. Publishing a book and want to quote another? You need to formally request permission first, and it may well cost a lot. Sampling a song as part of your own? You need to pay for that, either up front or with a slice of royalties. Want to use a photo? Entire photo libraries exist for selling images, with clear terms and conditions. You get the point.
But asking tech companies – some of the richest in history – to pre-emptively cut deals with content companies is simply too much to ask. Surely if tech bros are allowed to financially benefit from breaking copyright, other industries should be allowed to as well?
What is so special about AI? Perhaps the presumed benefit for security and defence. Or the perceived need to win the race and not let the other guys – mostly China – beat us to AGI or even just basically useful AI. Or maybe those expensive lobbyists are more convincing than even Elton John when it comes to swaying MPs.
This dismantling of copyright in the name of tech progress follows decades of “piracy is theft” messaging from the UK Government, in particular back when Clegg was involved. The Government considered all sorts of measures to avoid people illegally downloading or sharing copyright content, including blocking sites that hosted pirated material, scanning connections to spot pirates, and even threatening to turn off their broadband if they persisted. Remember the Digital Economy Act and, over in the US, the Stop Online Piracy Act?
To protect copyright ten or more years ago, the UK Government was willing to let companies snoop on individuals’ browsing behaviour and require private companies to send letters – in the mail – to each and every pirate telling them to stop their dodgy behaviour. Wild times.
But now, despite developing machines that should automate us all out of jobs, OpenAI et al can’t possibly be tasked with asking for permission before letting their systems listen to Billie Eilish, flip through The New York Times, read George RR Martin and so on. Maybe we could send them all letters?
All of it is enough to make you want to go pirate Nick Clegg’s book and upload it to OpenAI to see how much he likes it, but it’s probably for the best that we don’t feed the machines that sell-out’s ideas.
Instead, let’s consider the words of a former deputy PM who argued that the Digital Economy Act “needed more debate and amendment” and “was far too heavily weighted in favour of the big corporations”. Oh wait, that was Clegg.
Or better yet, let’s consider the words of Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat MP who was business secretary back in 2014 when Clegg was still the UK’s Deputy PM. Speaking about the arts industry and the need to defend it against piracy, he said: “It’s a difficult industry to pin down and it’s also difficult to protect. But unless you protect it, then it’s an industry that cannot function.”
It’s a shame MPs seem to have forgotten this.
