The Big Three Vs AI

A big thank you to everyone who responded to last week’s newsletter, In Defence of Andrew Huang.

I was heartened to receive so many interesting replies, detailing your concerns about its usage, the environmental impact, the way AI is being trained on copyright work without fair compensation, and much more.

I’m always open to having my mind changed, and really value having a space to discuss these big topics and hear from you.

News broke recently that Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group are suing the AI music start-ups Suno and Udio, for massive copyright infringement.

Seeking urgent clarification on which copyrighted songs have been used to train their models, the labels said that Suno and Udio “threaten enduring and irreparable harm to recording artists, record labels, and the music industry, inevitably reducing the quality of new music available to consumers and diminishing our shared culture.”

Suno CEO Mikey Shulman responded saying their AI does not “memorize and regurgitate pre-existing content” claiming “fair use” and that they “stand behind our technology,”

(Fair usage, which covers limited reproduction of works for journalism, parody, teaching and other non-commercial uses, just seems so clearly an unacceptable defence when you stand to make an awful lot of money...)

A blog post on Udio states: “The future of music will see more creative expression than ever before. Let us use this watershed moment in technology to expand the circle of creators, empower artists, and celebrate human creativity.”

Sony and Warner have both sent letters to AI companies writing that they officially ‘opt out’ of their music being used to train AI.

It seems that the choice should be ‘opt in’ rather than having to opt out. If you want to take part, by all means. If not, then you work should be yours alone.

It’s clear that AI is going to be one of the defining issues of our time. Where this will all lead, no one knows…

Mary x

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