- Hundreds of artists have launched a campaign against AI
- They say AI is stealing their jobs, and they want licensing deals instead
- Signers include Scarlett Johansson, Cyndi Lauper and more.
Among the many controversies surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI), the way it trains its algorithms on artistic works without compensation is one of the most controversial. That dispute has now given rise to a campaign by actors, musicians, writers and others to fight against the “theft” of their works by AI.
Dubbed “Stealing Is Not Innovation,” the campaign website claims that “some of the largest tech companies… are using the work of American creators to build artificial intelligence platforms without authorization or respect for copyright laws.” The site continues: “It’s not progress. It’s theft, plain and simple.”
Below the opening statements is a list of signatories containing hundreds of famous names, including singer Cyndi Lauper, rapper Common, actors Scarlett Johansson and Joseph Gordon Levitt, and more.
Instead of training AI algorithms on artists’ work without compensation, the signatories claim that “there is a better way.” This would be done through “licensing agreements and partnerships,” they say, which would provide AI companies with an “ethical and responsible route to obtaining the content and materials they wish to use.”
A major source of dispute
The way AI companies have trained their tools on artistic content has remained a source of controversy for years, with several organizations taking action over allegations that their work has been stolen and ingested by AI without compensating the original creators. Now it seems that many people have had enough.
Interestingly, the signatories’ wish is not for AI companies to stop using their work for training altogether. Instead, it’s about creating an agreement that allows companies like OpenAI, Google, and others to continue using artistic works for their large language models, under a license where creators presumably get paid for their content.
This is not the first time artists have claimed that AI is taking their jobs without permission. A 2023 lawsuit alleged that AI teams were violating copyright laws by training their products on created works, for example. However, given that big tech companies seem to act with impunity when it comes to copyrighted works, it will be interesting to see if the latest campaign has any effect.
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