In an interview with the BBC, Sir Paul McCartney expressed concern that artists and musicians could be unable to earn a livelihood due to potential changes to copyright laws that could enable “rip-off” technologies.
The government is contemplating a legislative change that, barring objections from the owners of the rights, would enable AI developers to include authors’ online work in their models.
“When we were kids in Liverpool, we found a job that we loved, but it also paid the bills,” Sir Paul said in an unusual interview with Sunday’s Laura Kuenssberg, adding that the plans might lead to a “loss of creativity” by removing the motivation for artists and writers.
With a copyright regime that gave authors “real control” and transparency, the government claimed it wanted to bring legal certainty.
According to Sir Paul McCartney, one of the two remaining Beatles members, “You get young guys and girls coming up, and they write a beautiful song, but they don’t own it, and they don’t have anything to do with it.”. And anybody who desires may just remove it.
In reality, the funds are destined for some other purpose… The person who wrote yesterday should be the one receiving payment, correct?
Calling on the government to reconsider its intentions, he made the following appeal: “We’re the people, you’re the government!” The law says you must keep us safe. Dude, that’s your job.
“So if you’re passing a bill, protect creative thinkers and artists, or you’ll lose them.”
Companies working in artificial intelligence would be free to exploit publicly available web content for text or data mining without having to respect copyright, according to current government recommendations.
The goal of generative AI programs is to create new material that mimics human creativity by mining or learning from large volumes of data, such as text, photos, or music found online.
The ideas would provide inventors and artists with a “rights reservation”—a way to choose not to participate.
On the other hand, many who are against the concept argue that it’s unrealistic to expect a single creator to oversee the whole internet and inform thousands of AI service providers that they do not want their work utilized in that way.
Baroness Kidron, a cross-bench peer, will propose a different method for artists to opt in and grant permission for their material to be used this week in the House of Lords.
The music business is in grave danger, according to UK Music CEO Tom Kiehl, because the government intends to alter copyright laws in a way that would allow AI corporations to utilize the music of artists, songwriters, and music companies without their consent.
It would contradict the government’s economic objectives and significantly jeopardize the creative industry, which currently contributes more than £120 billion to the economy.
“There is no evidence that creatives can effectively ‘opt out’ of being trained by AI systems, so this apparent concession does not reassure music professionals.”
According to a government official, the British music business is “truly world-class” and has created “some of the most celebrated artists in history.”
“That is why we have launched a consultation to ensure the UK copyright framework offers strong protections for artists regarding AI,” stated the group.
“We aim to deliver legal certainty through a copyright regime that gives creators real control and transparency and helps them license their content.”
The official stated that the government was “keen to hear the views of the music industry on these proposals” and that it will “only move forward once we are confident that we are delivering clarity, control, and transparency for artists and the sector, alongside appropriate access to data for AI innovators.”.
Now and Then was composed in 2023 by Sir Paul and fellow Beatle Sir Ringo Starr, using artificial intelligence to repurpose vocals from an unfinished John Lennon tape.
Nominated for two Grammys and a Brit award, the song garnered extensive praise and was announced as the Beatles’ last release.
The 82-year-old Sir Paul just wrapped up his Got Back tour in London’s O2 Arena, which included stops in Brazil, France, and Spain.
On Sunday, January 26th, at 9:00 GMT, Laura Kuenssberg will host the complete interview with Paul McCartney.
