Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting "AI's Unauthorized Learning of Creative Works Must Be Stopped"

Difficult to Notify Every AI Company to Ban Use
Copyright System Effectively Collapsing... Protest Album Produced

British cultural and artistic giants such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Ed Sheeran have demanded revisions to the copyright-related bill being promoted by the UK government. There are concerns that this bill will encourage AI companies to use creative works without permission in the future.

On the 25th (local time), over 30 figures from the UK cultural and artistic sectors wrote in an op-ed for the British daily The Times, stating, "The government’s plan to exempt Silicon Valley from having to comply with copyright when building AI platforms essentially hands over the rights and income of the UK creative sector wholesale to big tech." They added, "It creates a loophole in the moral rights that allow creators to freely present their works and will dismantle the copyright system that has lasted for 300 years."

Veteran 'giants' such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Sting, as well as younger singers like Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa, Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, writer Stephen Fry, musical maestro Andrew Lloyd Webber, and conductor Simon Rattle also participated in the op-ed.

The copyright-related bill being promoted by the UK government allows AI developers to use creative works available on the internet for AI model training and other purposes unless the copyright holder directly requests an 'opt-out' to prevent their works from being used. This is because it is difficult for individual artists or writers to review numerous AI services and notify each one not to use their works.

This 'Data Bill,' which covers a wide range of topics including customer and corporate data usage and personal information processing, was promoted with the aim of revitalizing the UK information technology (IT) industry to boost economic growth.

The cultural and artistic giants emphasized in their op-ed, "The creative industry contributes ?126 billion (approximately 228 trillion won) annually to the UK economy, employs 2.4 million people, and contributes to tourism and enhancing the nation's prestige," adding, "There is no moral or economic justification for stealing our copyrights."

Additionally, over 1,000 musicians including Damon Albarn, Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead, Billy Ocean, The Clash, Jamiroquai, and Hans Zimmer released an album containing no music in protest against the government’s plan.

The album titled Is This What We Want? recorded only occasional noises in empty recording studios or concert halls. It symbolizes that if the creative industry collapses, real music will cease to exist. All proceeds from this album will be donated to the charity 'Help Musicians' supporting musicians.

Live still cuts from Paul McCartney's 'Rock Show Concert' (Provided by Megabox)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.