London – The UK Government has announced that it “no longer has a preferred option” and is not planning to proceed with copyright reforms that would have provided AI training with protection similar to that available in the U.S., EU, and Japan. It instead plans to take forward workstreams on digital replicas, labelling AI-generated content, creator control and transparency and how smaller organisations engage with licensing markets. While the outcome of that work is unclear, it suggests an increase in the regulatory burden for AI development and deployment, despite the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday promising to support the UK’s role in what she called the “defining technology of our era.”
The following can be attributed to CCIA Senior Director and head of CCIA’s London office Matthew Sinclair:
“Ministers have put enormous weight on the role of AI in their plans for the UK economy. Those plans will simply not be credible if the Government keeps the worst copyright regime for AI training of any major economy and raises the prospect of making it even worse. It is disappointing that the UK will continue to lag behind Japan, the EU, and the United States, which are all providing the flexibility and protection needed to support AI investment and economic growth. The Government should take its own rhetoric on the importance of AI innovation seriously and return to a meaningful compromise, instead of loading more and more burdens on British researchers, scientists, and startups.”
