Source: AFP
Hundreds of artists and songwriters, including Billie Eilish, Smokey Robinson and the estate of Frank Sinatra, signed an open letter released Tuesday, calling for protection from what they called an “assault on human creativity” caused by artificial intelligence.
“We must protect ourselves from the aggressive use of artificial intelligence to steal the voices and likenesses of professional artists, infringe on the rights of creators, and destroy the music ecosystem,” read the letter submitted by the nonprofit Artist Rights Alliance.
The letter comes after months of similar warnings that unchecked AI could undermine copyright law and open the door to rampant fraud and theft.
“We call on all digital music platforms and music-based services to commit not to develop or deploy AI music production technology, content or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists, or deny us fair compensation for work” , read the letter, which was also signed by Katy Perry, J Balvin and Pearl Jam.
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“Unchecked, AI will launch a race to the bottom that will devalue our work and prevent us from being fairly rewarded for it,” the letter read.
Last month, the state of Tennessee — one of the music industry’s nerve centers thanks to Nashville — became the first in the United States to pass legislation aimed at protecting music industry professionals from artificial intelligence threats with the “ELVIS Act “.
The Safeguarding Likeness, Voice and Image Safety Act, which comes into effect on July 1, says artificial intelligence generation tools cannot reproduce an artist’s voice without their consent.
Similar legislation is under discussion at the federal level in Congress and in several other states.
Activists and leading industry organizations, including the Recording Industry Association of America and the Screen Actors Guild, praised the Tennessee act — the Human Artistry Campaign, a global coalition, called it “landmark” legislation.
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In Tuesday’s letter, the Artists Rights Alliance — an artists’ group representing songwriters and performers — acknowledged that artificial intelligence has “enormous potential to advance human creativity” but warned of darker consequences.
“Working musicians are already struggling to make ends meet in the streaming world, and now they have the added burden of trying to compete with a deluge of AI-generated noise,” said ARA head Jen Jacobsen.
Universal Music Group has cited TikTok’s approach to artificial intelligence as a factor in the ongoing contract renewal dispute between the two companies, which has led to the deletion of music by many Universal recording artists and those with publishing contracts from the platform.
Source: AFP