Almost three-quarters of musicians in the UK believe unregulated generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) threatens their ability to make a living, according to a new report that calls on the government to intervene. The research, titled 'Brave New World?', also found that one in three creative jobs are at risk due to GenAI, which is often trained on creatives' media and intellectual property.
The report argues that GenAI is causing a 'creative jobs crisis', with employment of creatives being replaced by GenAI at the same time as it uses their existing work to train new models. Nearly a third of illustrators reported losing commissions or having projects cancelled due to GenAI, while 58 per cent of photographers and more than half of authors have seen similar disruptions.
Additionally, 99 per cent of creatives said their work has been 'scraped' without consent, meaning their creative output has been used to train AI models without permission or remuneration. The report calls for a new 'CLEAR' framework—Content first, Licensing not scraping, Ethical use of training data, Accountability, and Remuneration and rights—to protect human creativity.
In the foreword, filmmaker Baroness Beeban Kidron said: 'This report calls for justice... What is being taken, in plain sight, is the private property of UK citizens, protected by UK law. It is not the government's to give away. To do so is an injustice.' Rachel Hill, CEO of the Association of Illustrators, added: 'If the government is serious about supporting the creative industries, it must act now to protect creators' rights.'
A government spokesperson responded: 'Our work on copyright and AI has always been focused on protecting human creativity while ensuring UK citizens can reap AI's transformational benefits. That's why we are continuing to engage with creatives to find a solution which will allow them to thrive.'
