CMS and SCIT committee chairs write to government on copyright and artificial intelligence
Chi Onwurah MP and Dame Caroline Dineage MP have written to Ministers in their posts as chairs of the Culture Media and Sport and Science Innovation and Technology committees.
Following the closure of the UK government’s Copyright and Artificial Intelligence consultation on 25 February, Dame Caroline Dineage MP and Chi Onwurah MP have written to Peter Kyle MP and Lisa Nandy MP urging government to introduce “practical measures to provide transparency on AI training data, whatever its approach to copyright law.”
The view is one of several expressed following a joint session of the committees where individuals giving evidence stressed the importance of transparency requirements on developers.
The letter states:
“We welcome the fact that the government’s consultation establishes transparency as a distinct policy objective and provides a series of discrete questions on this; however, it is disappointing that the government only includes explicit supporting measures on transparency as part of its preferred option, and not the other proposed options it sets out.”
The NUJ has called for greater transparency requirements for AI firms to ensure journalists and creators are informed about their works used to train and inform the development of AI technologies.
The committee chairs state “government’s preferred option should not be taken forward without a technical solution that works, is implementable and accessible to all.” This position has been stressed by much of the creative industries sector concerned about government’s flawed position.
This week, the NUJ submitted a response to government’s consultation outlining concerns and calling for greater enforcement of copyright law. The union also stressed its opposition to opt-out processes, the proposed text and data mining exception and underscored the need for the clear labelling of content generated by AI, alongside respect for the copyright-protected works of journalists. The submission called for greater enforcement to ensure compliance by developers, a position by both Dineage and Onwurah.
They state:
"Robust mechanisms are needed to enforce compliance, enforcement and redress, particularly regarding transparency measures, while setting an appropriate balance with ease of compliance."
Their letter seeks a response from Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by 18 March.