Paul McCartney is one of more than 400 artists standing up to proposed changes to U.S. copyright laws that will benefit artificial intelligence firms over creative talents.
The former Beatle and a host of A-listers across the entertainment industry — including Paul Simon, Bette Midler, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Ben Stiller — have signed an open letter voicing concerns about the potential impact the goalpost shifting could incite.
The letter comes after Google and Open AI, the firm behind ChatGPT, suggested looser restrictions would allow AI learning to accelerate its growth and make the U.S. a global leader. Such a change would mean removing guardrails and copyright practices that are in place to protect musicians, actors, and beyond.
The tech giant thinks the change will be “critical to enabling AI systems to learn from prior knowledge and publicly available data, unlocking scientific and social advances.”
Doing so will give AI firms special allowances to analyze and learn from copyrighted materials as AI looks to soak up as much information as it can.
Google says its AI training would be undertaken “without significantly impacting rightsholders,” of copyrighted materials, but the McCartney-backed letter underscores the risks posed.
“We firmly believe that America’s global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries,” the letter states. It also highlights how those industries amount to 2.3 million American jobs, and over $229 billion in annual wages.
“AI companies are asking to undermine this economic and cultural strength by weakening copyright protections for the films, television series, artworks, writing, music, and voices used to train AI models at the core of multibillion dollar corporate valuations.
“Make no mistake: this issue goes well beyond the entertainment industry, as the right to train AI on all copyright-protected content impacts all of America’s knowledge industries,” it continues.
“When tech and AI companies demand unfettered access to all data and information, they’re threatening all professionals who work with computers and generate intellectual property.
“America didn’t become a global cultural powerhouse by accident,” it concludes. “Our success stems directly from our fundamental respect for IP and copyright that rewards creative risk-taking by talented and hardworking Americans.”
McCartney previously spoke out against Britain's similar proposed changes to copyright law that give AI developers freedom to analyze copyrighted music unless the artist opts out.
The former Beatle said such a move would create a "Wild West" environment that leaves artists' copyrights unprotected.
"You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don't own it," he said. "They don't have anything to do with it. And anyone who wants can just rip it off.
"The truth is, the money's going somewhere. Somebody's getting paid, so why shouldn't it be the guy who sat down and wrote 'Yesterday'?"
Jimmy Page voiced similar concerns about the U.K. proposals. He said AI-generated media is “devoid of the struggles that define true artistry” and is working to exploit hardworking musicians.
In an open letter to the UK government, posted on his Instagram page, the former Led Zeppelin guitarist wrote: “If someone had taken my riffs without acknowledgment or payment, it would have been deemed theft. The same standard must apply to AI.”
Brian May has also hit out at the U.K.'s proposed changes, stating that “Nobody will be able to afford to make music,” if AI tech is given full sway, although Elvis Costello is far less worried about the risks posed.
If someone had taken my riffs without acknowledgment or payment, it would have been deemed theft. The same standard must apply to AI
Jimmy Page
AI in music isn't all doom and gloom, however. Positive Grid has added AI tone-building tech to its Spark 2 amp modeler series, and PreSonus is using AI to empower musicians working with the latest version of its flagship DAW, Studio One.
McCartney and Ringo Starr famously used AI to produce one final Beatles song, “Now and Then” so they are aware of its benefits, but the 400-strong contingent believes the proposed changes cross a vital line.
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