Oz gov’t inquiry brands AI tech giants ‘content pirates’, recommends compensation
An Australian government inquiry into the use of AI has slammed technology companies for committing ‘unprecedented theft’ in unlawfully using copyrighted content to train AI models, in the absence of permission and without compensation.
Claire Pullen
The eight-month inquiry handed down a 222-page report, with 13 key recommendations that highlight safeguarding creative workers’ rights and ensuring fair compensation for content creators.
Inquiry chairman and Labor senator Tony Sheldon said: “These tech giants aren’t pioneers, they’re pirates, pillaging our culture, data and creativity for their gain while leaving Australians empty-handed.”
The report also recommended amending the Copyright Act to mandate transparency regarding training datasets and creating mechanisms for creators to receive royalties for their work.
The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) has welcomed the recommendations from the Select Committee on Adopting AI and the senate inquiries’ strong support of creators.
“Australia’s storytelling is rich and we have a unique cultural identity, all at risk if we don’t adequately address the theft that has already taken place. Until this is achieved, any discussions of the opportunities AI may present to the industry are moot,” said AWG and AWG Authorship Collecting Society Group CEO Claire Pullen.
She added that it was gratifying to see the committee, “accurately describe the contradictory and farcical arguments of big tech companies that have taken Australian work without paying for it. This is a real concern among Australian creatives.”
An AWG survey of members quoted in the Committee’s report states that 94% of respondents expressed concern for their livelihoods if AI use continues in the industry without regulation.
Recommendations 8-10 of the report specifically address the creative industries, with the committee calling on the Australian government to continue to consult with creative workers through the Copyright & Artificial Intelligence Reference Group.
This will discuss the theft of their work; require AI developers to be transparent in their use of copyrighted works, and to license and pay for any copyrighted works used to train datasets; and to undertake further consultation with the creative industry to ensure fair remuneration is paid to creators for any commercial AI-generated outputs.
“This report is a solid step towards ensuring big tech has to play by the rules. We look forward to continuing this work with government to build a robust framework that protects the economic and intellectual property rights of Australian artists, and delivers a rich and diverse screen and stage culture for audiences,” said Pullen.
It comes as a group of filmmakers and creators that had been given exclusive early access to OpenAI’s Sora this week staged a protest by leaking a version of the text-to-video platform, accusing the AI giant of luring them into “art washing.”
