1,000+ Artists Release a Silent Album to Protest Against Uk’s Proposed AI Training Changes

Key Takeaways

• 1000+ artists have released a silent album called Is This What We Want?" to protest against the new changes in the AI law proposed by the UK government.
• The proposed changes state that AI companies will be able to use copyrighted music for training their models unless the copyright holder opts out of it.
• The proposal is still under review. No final decision has been made.

The music industry is witnessing another mass protest as artists from different walks have once again united in their fight against AI.

On Tuesday, more than 1000 artists, including Damon Albarn, Annie Lennox, and Kate Bush, released a silent album in protest to the UK government's proposed changes that would make it easier for AI companies to train their tools on copyrighted work.

The album is titled Is This What We Want?" and was created with the hope that it will bring attention to the impact that AI will have on the livelihoods of these artists.

It features a recording of empty music studios and an untouched piano with a simple message on the top - The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies." All profits from this album will be donated to a charity called Help Musicians.

So What's the Proposed Change?

The new law basically states that AI companies will be able to use copyrighted music for training their bots (even without a license) unless the owner of the music decides to opt out.

However, many artists have pointed out that the opt-out" solution is not practical. On the surface, it seems like the artists have a real choice but in reality, it's quite impossible for a single artist or even their team to reach out to hundreds of AI companies and tell them not to use their music for training.

And if a company uses their music despite them opting out, it's again impossible to track them down.

What Does the Government Have to Say About This?

The government is still consulting on this matter and is yet to make a final decision. But on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said that the current laws for copyright and AI are holding back both the industries (both music and AI) from realizing their full potential. This cannot be allowed to continue and that's why these new changes were proposed.

But they also assured that no changes have been made yet. The government is consulting experts from both industries and only if they feel that this new initiative will meet all their goals without hurting any of the stakeholders will they set the plan in motion.

However, all these explanations seem to have no effect on the raging group of protestors. For example, Ed Newton-Rex, one of the organizers of the album called this a disastrous move"which is totally uncalled for. The UK could have progressed in the AI race without disadvantaging the musicians.

Singer-songwriter Naomi Kimpenu also added how this initiative, if implemented, will make it almost impossible for new talents to make it in the industry. And those who are already here will also struggle to break even.

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