Considering creatives, copyright and AI: a new report by DACS, PICSEL and Convocation Research and Design

A new report published today, commissioned by DACS and PICSEL, proposes how the UK government could tackle the ongoing challenges around copyright and generative AI by adopting transparency measures that enable better control and fair pay for artists and rightsholders.

The report – Considering Creatives, Copyright and AI – stresses that rightsholders must be able express granular and nuanced decisions about potential uses of their works through standardised systems, allowing AI companies to implement requests without excessive administrative burdens and use works in an informed manner.

Convocation Research and Design, an interdisciplinary think tank focussing on technology, design, and human rights, worked with stakeholders in IP law, visual arts and AI through a series of focus groups to conceive a route for generative AI development that respects copyright and pays rightsholders.

The report concludes that:

1. Artists are not “anti- AI”, and many are keen to find ways to collaborate or contribute to datasets, while also being paid.
2. Artists, lawyers, and copyright holders would like to see government create better ways to govern and manage data.
3. AI and creative industries can both flourish in the UK if the right policies are followed. Destabilising the law would have a negative downstream impact on everyone from artists to museums to visitors.
4. Creating a better symbiosis does not require sweeping copyright law changes: there’s enough flexibility in the law to bring about control and pay.
5. The lack of transparency measures is a barrier to creator-AI collaboration and fair payment. Responsible accessing and use of data, underpinned by licensing, is key to overcoming this barrier.