Creative Professionals Call for AI Regulation to Protect Livelihoods
A growing number of creative professionals, including country singers, romance novelists, video game artists, and voice actors, are appealing to the U.S. government for regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) as they fear it poses a significant threat to their livelihoods. This plea comes as technology companies continue to benefit from the status quo, using published works to enhance their AI systems’ ability to mimic human creativity.
Shira Perlmutter, the U.S. Register of Copyrights, has received nearly 10,000 comments and letters from concerned individuals within the creative industry. One of the main concerns is the unauthorized use of copyrighted human works to train AI systems. Currently, copyright claims for fully machine-generated content are rejected, as copyright laws protect works of human authorship. However, as humans provide input and influence the output of AI systems, the definition of authorship becomes unclear.
The U.S. Copyright Office is considering whether copyright reforms are needed for the new era of generative AI tools that can create compelling visual art, music, videos, and written content. Perlmutter’s office will advise Congress and others on whether reforms are necessary after reviewing the comments.
Creative professionals from various fields have expressed their fears and frustrations. Justine Bateman, an actor and filmmaker, highlighted the concern that AI models are ingesting decades of film and TV, which can potentially disrupt the film industry’s structure and eliminate numerous job opportunities. She referred to this practice as the largest copyright violation in the history of the United States. Lilla Zuckerman, a television showrunner, emphasized the need to combat AI’s role as a plagiarism machine before the entertainment industry loses its human talent.
The music industry also faces threats from AI. Country songwriter Marc Beeson emphasized the potential damage to one of America’s last true art forms if AI is not regulated and controlled properly. Big music publishers and well-known organizations, such as Universal Music Group and The Associated Press, have echoed these concerns.
Technology companies, including Google, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp), argue that their use of copyrighted material to train AI models falls under the fair use doctrine. They claim that AI training aims to identify patterns across various content rather than reproduce individual works. So far, courts have generally sided with tech companies on how copyright laws should treat AI systems.
Nevertheless, critics argue that this comparison is flawed. They highlight the differences between Google Books, which obtained legitimate copies held by libraries and institutions, and AI developers who often scrape content through outright piracy. The Copyright Office aims to address these concerns.
The future regulation of AI’s impact on creative professionals remains uncertain. However, the growing number of pleas from those directly affected highlights the urgent need for comprehensive and balanced guidelines to protect livelihoods while still fostering innovation and technological advancement.
