Overview

• The UK government has rejected an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill that would have mandated AI companies to disclose copyrighted works used to train their models and obtain prior consent.
• Prominent artists, including Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Dua Lipa, criticized the decision, calling it a threat to the livelihoods of creators and the UK's £126 billion creative sector.
• The proposed 'opt-out' strategy would shift the burden to creators to flag their work for exclusion from AI training, a move critics argue favors tech firms over UK-based artists.
• Nick Clegg, former Meta executive, claimed that requiring pre-use consent from creators would be unfeasible and risk stifling AI innovation in the UK.
• Amid regulatory uncertainty, companies like Adobe and Audible are advancing AI-powered tools, with Adobe introducing content authenticity measures and Audible planning to use AI-generated voices for audiobooks.