( AP )- Voice artists, interactive game creators, country music vocalists, and romantic fiction writers are urgently appealing to the U.S. government for assistance in mitigating the risks posed by artificial intelligence to their livelihoods promptly.
“Choose control AI.” Among the myriad letters recently submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office, a blogger expressed apprehension about AI mimicking their voice.
Conversely, technology firms appear satisfied with the current landscape as it enables them to consume published content to enhance their AI systems’ ability to replicate human behavior.
The nation’s top copyright official has yet to take a definitive stance. While contemplating the necessity for rights reforms in light of a new era of AI tools that generate compelling visuals, audio, video, and text, Shira Perlmutter, the U.S. Register of Copyrights, assured The Associated Press that she is attentive to all perspectives.
In an interview, Perlmutter stated, “We have received nearly 10,000 responses,” emphasizing that each submission is reviewed by a human, not a machine. She personally delves into a significant portion of these responses.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Perlmutter oversees the U.S. Copyright Office, which processed over 480,000 registrations last year covering numerous creative works. However, the office is increasingly confronted with requests to register content produced by AI. Given that copyright laws are designed to protect human-authored works, claims for entirely AI-generated content have typically been denied.
The question arises as humans input content into AI systems and dictate the output’s emotional aspects: is there a threshold where human involvement in controlling the output’s evocative elements warrants authorship consideration?
One of the inquiries posed to the public by the Copyright Office addresses the handling of copyrighted works sourced from the internet and other outlets for training AI systems, often without authorization or compensation. This issue has garnered extensive feedback from the artistic community.
Following the closure of the initial comment period in early October, over 9,700 remarks were submitted to the Copyright Office, a branch of the Library of Congress. Another round of feedback will occur by December 6, leading to recommendations to Congress and other stakeholders regarding potential reforms.
WHAT DO ARTISTS ARGUE?
Justine Bateman, known for her role in “Family Ties,” voiced concerns about AI algorithms consuming decades of visual and television content, potentially altering the fabric of the film industry. She urged the U.S. Copyright Office to intervene and halt this perceived infringement.
Lilla Zuckerman, a television showrunner, advocated for industry resistance against what she deems a “plagiarism machine,” warning against the erosion of human creativity in entertainment.
Renowned country songwriter Marc Beeson highlighted the music industry’s vulnerability to AI advancements, cautioning against the unregulated use of AI that could undermine American art forms.
While individual commentators predominated, major music labels like Universal Music Group and prominent news organizations expressed apprehensions over AI training practices.
IS IT ETHICAL?
Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, assert to the Copyright Office that their AI model training aligns with the “fair use” doctrine, permitting limited use of copyrighted materials for educational and transformative purposes.
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, underlined that AI training leverages existing copyrighted content within legal boundaries to identify patterns rather than replicate specific works.
Thus far, copyright authorities have generally favored tech companies in addressing AI-related copyright concerns. Despite a recent legal challenge against AI image generators, courts have predominantly upheld tech firms’ practices, albeit with some limitations to protect visual artists.
The Copyright Office, led by Perlmutter, is actively working to navigate the complexities of AI and copyright laws to ensure fair and equitable treatment for all stakeholders.
