The Technology Secretary was today accused of ‘drinking the kool-aid’ of Big Tech after he stood firm on plans to give AI developers a copy-right law exemption.
Peter Kyle even took an apparent swipe at musicians and artists who have voiced dismay at his plan that they warn could destroy our £126billion creative industry.
Mr Kyle said he will ‘not have one side forcing me to make a choice between one or the other’ after protests from leading stars and executives in the sector.
While stressing he is ‘really open minded’ he then repeated his desire to force creators to opt out of letting tech firms plunder their work.
It has reinforced fears that Mr Kyle is ‘turning a blind eye’ to the issue, despite many creatives including Sir Elton John and Simon Cowell urging him to rethink.
Baroness Kidron, a crossbench peer and leading campaigner against the proposal, said: ‘Bending to the will of Silicon Valley lobbyists – drinking the kool-aid as they say – does nothing for the national interest.’
Singer-songwriter Mike Batt, a leading opponent of Labour’s plan, which the Mail has campaigned against, slammed him for siding with his ‘AI pals’.
Addressing Mr Kyle, he said: ‘Nobody is forcing you. This is a matter of common sense and reasoning. It’s called persuasion. I’ll tell you what you ought to do – a U-turn.
Peter Kyle, pictured, even took an apparent swipe at musicians and artists who have voiced dismay at his plan that they warn could destroy our £126billion creative industry
Mr Kyle said he will ‘not have one side forcing me to make a choice between one or the other’ after protests from leading stars and executives in the sector. Picture: Stock image of a phone with the ChatGPT logo
‘There are perfectly good copyright laws already in place for your AI pals to get the very rights they want, by obtaining a licence from each creator, or from the societies or organisations representing them.’
A creative industry source told the Mail: ‘It’s a shame he sees it as one side against another. Even some AI companies think the proposals are one-sided.’
Tory culture spokesman Stuart Andrew said: ‘Almost the entirety of the creative sector agrees that Labour’s proposals are not fit for purpose, but the Tech Secretary is turning a blind eye.’
Tech firms use news articles, books, films, and art to train their AI models which publishers and creators say they should pay for. If they do not, experts warn it will destroy our creative industry, which employs 2.4million people.
Tory culture spokesman Stuart Andrew, pictured, said: ‘Almost the entirety of the creative sector agrees that Labour’s proposals are not fit for purpose, but the Tech Secretary is turning a blind eye’
Yet the Government launched an AI consultation saying it favours changing UK law to allow tech platforms to use content without permission unless the creators ‘opt out’.
This puts the burden on the artists and publishers to police theft of their own work. As things stand, every creator’s work is automatically protected by copyright law.
Mr Kyle has been criticised for holding numerous meetings with tech companies but not meeting leaders in the creative industries before stating his preference for the ‘opt out’.
He has said ministers with culture briefs have been speaking to creative representatives.
The Department for Technology was approached for comment today.
