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Labour is under fire for backing a controversial plan to let Big Tech firms pillage culture for free without costing it, and with no idea of how it will benefit Britain.
The Government wants to let AI companies ignore copyright rules and use UK music, art, films and books without paying to train their algorithms – unless creators ‘opt out’.
Ministers say it will help in their desperate quest for economic growth as they harness the technology’s revolutionary potential. But the Mail can reveal they have not even compiled an economic impact assessment, despite warnings there is nothing to stop Silicon Valley-based giants simply extracting our data and reaping the profits.
Britain also has some of the highest industrial electricity costs in the Western world, so AI firms are unlikely to put down roots here and create swathes of jobs, given that the technology is so energy intensive. Critics say it risks destroying our world-leading £126 billion cultural industry which gives Britain its soft power superpower status and employs 2.4 million people.
The biggest stars and industry leaders from the world of music, film and literature have joined a major Daily Mail campaign against the copyright exception.
Politicians and experts last night questioned how Sir Keir Starmer’s Government could possibly justify the proposal on economic grounds if it has not even been costed.
The impact of AI is expected to reduce revenues by music creators by 24 per cent globally by 2026, even without the copyright exception proposal. Baroness Kidron, a crossbench peer and AI expert, said: ‘We cannot put ourselves up for sale to Silicon Valley.
‘You don’t have to give away Dua Lipa songs to have breakthroughs in medicine. They are giving away all future work of British citizens directly to companies whose entire reason for using this “data” is to directly compete with those same British citizens.
‘It is economic catastrophe for the Government to steal valuable creative property and give it away. It’s an attack on our creative sovereignty’.
Politicians and experts last night questioned how Sir Keir Starmer’s Government could possibly justify the copyright proposal on economic grounds if it has not even been costed
We cannot put ourselves up for sale to Silicon Valley, says crossbench peer and AI expert Baroness Kidron
Damian Collins, former chairman of the culture, media and sport committee, said: ‘How can the Government decide whether the AI copyright exception will be good for growth without undertaking a full economic impact assessment, that also takes into account the impact it would have on the creative sector?’
Tory culture spokesman Stuart Andrew said: ‘There seems no end to this Labour Government’s efforts to surrender Britain’s assets for a quick dime, rather than looking to develop the talent we have to build a thriving future for our country.’ Labour backs allowing Big Tech firms to ignore copyright rules when training their artificial intelligence systems, with a pivotal consultation on the matter set to close tomorrow.
Ministers are proposing to change existing laws so the tech giants can use any online material, such as text, images or music, to improve their AI models – without respecting the copyright laws that ensure its creators get paid.
Instead, creators would have to ‘opt out’ of having their work exploited in this way.
It comes as new US ambassador Lord Mandelson was this weekend said to have compiled a ‘Mega (Make our Economies Great Again) deal’ that features AI for Sir Keir to present in Washington as he attempts to woo Donald Trump. A source familiar with the plan told The Sunday Times the ambassador believes it could help solve Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ problems in balancing the books.
It is understood, however, that Lord Mandelson believes his plans, which include ‘moonshot’ projects such as quantum computing and the space race, do not have to affect copyright and the creative industries.
A Government spokesman said: ‘The UK’s current regime for copyright and AI is holding back the creative industries and AI sector from realising their full potential – and that cannot continue.
‘That’s why we have been consulting on a new approach that protects the interests of both AI developers and right holders and delivers a solution which allows both to thrive.’
Why the man who drew the Gruffalo says the spectre of A.I. is even scarier
The Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler has put his name to a letter warning creative output is at risk from government plans to allow Big Tech to ignore copyright rules
Leading cultural figures are among 3,500 people who have signed a letter warning about AI’s dire threat to the UK’s creative industries.
One signatory said big tech was ‘scooping up creativity en masse’ to ‘build something without any soul that will rob us’.
Artistic figures including children’s author and poet Michael Rosen, The Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler and novelist Mark Haddon have put their names to the letter, warning creative output is at risk from government plans to allow Big Tech to ignore traditional copyright rules when training their artificial intelligence systems.
The letter, published in The Observer, is calling for ministers to maintain a strong copyright system that protects the livelihoods of creators. It said there was a risk of ‘seeing it bleed our industries of the energy that comes from its grassroots’, and warned against the risks of an ‘unsustainable’ and ‘reckless’ approach.
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