The Musicians' Union said Friday that the proposed scheme allowing those in the creative sector to opt out of the exception is lacking clarity over who will be able to reserve rights and how creators can ensure their work is flagged as exempt.
The union said in a statement that the government's proposal is "like standing on your driveway negotiating with a burglar about the contents of your house they've just loaded into the back of their van."
"Obviously, we'd want to see it being applied entirely retrospectively with payment for use of works already scraped, and the ability to prevent ongoing use of these works moving forward, but the tech firms will no doubt argue that removal of works from their models is too technically challenging and costly," the union said.
The consultation, which launched in December and runs until Feb. 25, says AI companies should be granted copyright exceptions for training AI models. Creators should also have the power to opt out of their work being used to train AI, according to the government.
However, the union has questioned the need to allow tech companies to use artistic works to train AI, noting that unlike using private medical data to find cures for diseases, there is no compelling societal benefit presented for AI-generated music that warrants such an exception.
The Musicians' Union also argued that the scheme could unfairly penalize sole traders and small businesses by requiring works to have machine-readable tags to identify the work's creator as reserving their right to opt out.
While larger companies have the resources to tag works and negotiate licenses, smaller creators might lack the capacity, leaving their works vulnerable to exploitation, the union said.
The Musicians' Union confirmed it is in discussion with politicians, other music industry bodies, trade unions and other organizations in the creative industry about its concerns to try to find a solution that works for union members and all U.K. musicians.
There have been calls from the creative and the intellectual property sectors for the government to regulate AI training following the recent mass adoption of generative AI models. In December, the Creative Rights in AI Coalition urged the government to ensure that its AI policy protects rights holders by requiring generative AI companies to seek out licensing agreements when building their systems.
--Additional reporting by Alex Baldwin. Editing by Daniel King.
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