Law Reform: AI Has a Copyright Problem—Data (Use and Access) Bill
UK Data (Use and Access) Bill demands AI developers come clean on data training methodologies.
The United Kingdom are moving towards total transparency in artificial intelligence. A new amendment to the Data Bill now requires the government to investigate how AI developers are using copyrighted works to train their AI systems. This reform could force big tech companies to reveal what content they have collected, how they got it, and whether anyone gave permission. Artists, writers and musicians have waited a long time for this moment.
AI Copyright Infringement
The House of Lords has decided that AI developers must be brought to account for AI copyright infringement.
This week, it adopted a new clause in the Data (Use and Access) Bill that will empower the UK government to investigate the use of copyrighted works in the development of AI systems.
The government now has a duty to find out whether AI systems are using books, articles, songs or any other protected works without the creator’s knowledge.
Not only that, it must look into how these materials are being accessed and whether the current laws are strong enough to protect copyright holders.
For years, developers have been feeding large amounts of data into AI models. Some of this data has included copyright-protected content.
The problem is that nobody has been keeping track. Writers, artists and musicians have been complaining. They say their work has been used without permission.
The response from developers has been vague. Some say they scraped public data. Some say they used third-party sources. No one seems to want to explain exactly what went in.
The House of Lords now seeks clarity in order to know the scale of the issue.
The Bill will include new transparency obligations.
These would require companies to inform copyright owners when their work has been used.
They would also need to explain how they got the content, and from where.
This might sound obvious, but is not.