The British government suffered a setback to its plans to make it easier for AI companies to access data as the House of Lords backed more protection for content creators on Monday.
The Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to introduce a copyright exception for commercial generative AI training with its Data (Use and Access) Bill.
Under the proposed law, companies developing AI models would not need permission from creatives to access certain content — a plan that has provoked a fierce backlash in the cultural sector.
More than 400 artists and other creatives have signed an open letter calling for the plans to be scrapped, including Paul McCartney, Elton John and Dua Lipa.
Beeban Kidron, a member of the House of Lords, Britain’s upper house of parliament, tabled an amendment to the bill that was passed by 272 votes to 125.
Under the amendment, authors must give permission for their work to be used and must also be able to see what has been taken, by whom and when.
Artificial intelligence companies “are stealing some of the UK’s most valuable cultural and economic assets”, said Kidron, who directed one of the Bridget Jones films.
“Creators do not deny the creative and economic value of AI. But we do deny the assertion that we should have to build AI for free, with our work, and then rent it back from those who stole it,” Kidron said.
“It’s Harry Potter, it’s the entire back catalogue of every single music publisher in the UK. It’s the voice of Hugh Grant, the design of an iconic handbag, the IP of our universities, great museums and library collections,” she said.
Labour digital minister Maggie Jones said there was a “real risk” that too many “obligations” would lead to “AI innovators, including many home-grown British companies, thinking twice about whether they wish to develop and provide their services in the UK”.
Starmer in January unveiled an “action plan” to make the UK “the world leader” in artificial intelligence and spark Britain’s flagging economy, promising flexible regulations.
The bill will now be sent back to the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament, for further debate.
