Introduction:
Separate appeals from artists urging the world to take action before it’s too late are beginning to merge as the creative sectors struggle with AI’s simultaneous expansion into every form of artistic expression. Conversations Artists Across Industries about how to control the technology before it causes irreparable harm to creative groups are becoming more and more common as phony Drake songs and stylized Instagram profile pictures become more and more common.
#AIdayofaction is a campaign that asks Congress to prevent businesses from getting copyrights on music and other works of art created with AI. This week, the digital rights organization Fight for the Future joined forces with the music industry labor group United Musicians and Allied Workers to begin the campaign.
The theory is that by making it impossible for giants of the industry, like large record labels, to copyright music created with the aid of AI, such businesses will be compelled to keep using humans in the creative process. However, these worries are shared across creative industries, as are the same potential defenses against AI’s onslaught.
That was another goal when we started this endeavor with the day of action: to try to show how these are universal issues that are shared by different types of artistic expression. And to establish a focal point for the organization since artists working in several mediums collectively possess much more significant influence.
The campaign focuses on potential corporate misuse of AI technology, but it’s realistic about how some artists, like musicians, could gain personally by having some of their labor automated. AI technologies are intended to “become ways for individual humans to make more money, work less, and compete with the corporations that exploit them.”
Because artists may be more familiar with the concept of AI, Holland said, “it’s exciting from a music perspective, specifically.” “Musicians, in general, are more accustomed to things like music production software and AI tools like MIDI drum loops. Therefore, I think that there is a certain amount of more progressive learning from them when it comes to technology and its ability to improve their music.”
The topic of art with artificial intelligence is problematic. Musicians are concerned that business titans may copyright AI songs and exclude them from the process. Major record labels are concerned that AI models trained on their catalogs will attempt to grab a portion of their enormous pie. While recently launching an AI-powered DJ who curates music for users while speaking to them in a synthetic voice, Spotify also recently removed hundreds of AI-created tracks from its site.
Artists Across Industries:
Artists Across Industries (Image Source : techcrunch.com)
The same debates and conflicts are present in all creative professions, yet artists frequently lack a voice in these discussions. Notably, independent artists are discovering that joining forces across disciplines to fight against what Holland refers to as an “extraordinary spectrum of exploitation” that leverages their work makes their voices more audible.
This week, the FTC held a roundtable discussion on how generative AI is influencing creatives, bringing together leaders from a variety of creative fields, including voice acting, science fiction, screenplay, music, illustration, and even fashion.
FTC Chair Lina Khan stated, “I recognize that generative AI, in particular, provides a unique combination of opportunities and problems to creative industries. We’ve already heard a lot of worries about how these technologies might almost immediately considerably weaken creators and artists who might have their life’s work hijacked into models over which they have no control.
Representatives from a wide range of creative groups voiced their concerns in the comments section about opt-out rules that, by default, train AI models on artists’ unique works and about how existing copyright law may be a valuable, though not all-inclusive, instrument for establishing regulatory guardrails.
A WGA representative stressed throughout the session that while the strike-related protections for writers were included in the recently reached deal, the fight for artists’ livelihoods “doesn’t stop at the bargaining table.”
The FTC does seem to be highly aware of the hazards posed by the technology—and the power of uniting voices from many businesses—whether or not Congress takes action in time to address growing worries about AI and creative industries.
According to FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, “art is fundamentally human.”
Technology may help humans create art, but human contribution is necessary for something to be considered art. By definition, technology is not human. Even if humans succeed in creating generative AI that is increasingly clever, human creativity will always be retained by it.
