The renowned ‘America’s Got Talent’ judge, Simon Cowell, has expressed his deep concern over British government proposals that seek to modify copyright laws, allowing artificial intelligence (AI) companies to use online creative material without the explicit consent of the artists.
In a column for The Daily Mail, Cowell emphasized that this measure could jeopardize the livelihoods of creators, stating that ‘the idea that someone believes they have the right to blindly give away this country’s creative ideas, for nothing in return, is simply wrong.’
Legendary musician Sir Elton John has also joined this call, highlighting that the adoption of such copyright exceptions could destroy the leadership that the United Kingdom has painstakingly achieved in the creative industry.
John stressed the importance of protecting emerging artists and those aspiring to a career in the arts, warning that these proposals could devastate the British creative community.
Furthermore, more than 2,000 British creatives, including figures like Mark Haddon, Michael Rosen, and Axel Scheffler, have signed a letter urging the government to maintain current copyright protections in the face of proposed changes that favor AI development.
The signatories argue that relaxing these protections could transfer wealth from artists to tech giants, eroding cultural heritage and negatively affecting creators, especially those from minorities.
The ‘Make It Fair’ campaign has been launched to address these concerns, with the support of prominent artists such as Paul McCartney, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kate Bush. This group argues that technology companies are using copyrighted material to train AI systems without permission or compensation, and that current government proposals do not adequately address this issue.
Conductor Sir Simon Rattle has also expressed his opposition to the proposed reforms, warning that they could ‘atrophy’ and ‘commodify’ music. Rattle emphasized that the government seems to misunderstand the creative process and that these measures could discourage the creation of new music, affecting millions of people who value human-made music.
This collective mobilization of artists and creators seeks to urge the British government to reconsider its proposals and establish a balance that protects the rights of creators while promoting technological innovation in an ethical and fair manner.
