Campaigners who helped stop the UK from letting AI companies train on copyrighted work without permission have warned Australia not to try the same thing. They spoke to Dan Milmo for the Guardian.
Australia’s government is weighing an opt-out model, under which AI firms could train on creators’ work unless they object. The plan came to light this month in leaked slides from the Attorney-General’s Department, ABC News reported.
The UK dropped a similar plan in March. Technology secretary Liz Kendall said the government no longer had a preferred option, after only 3% of more than 10,000 people who responded to its consultation backed opt-out.
Beeban Kidron, a film director and member of the House of Lords, led the political fight in the UK. She told the Guardian that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should take note.
“He should not squander his reputation by selling Australian creatives down the river,” Kidron said.
Composer Ed Newton-Rex, a former AI executive, organised a silent protest album backed by more than 1,000 musicians and a book with no text, signed by 10,000 writers. He said the UK campaign made the government see that the public wanted AI firms to pay for content.
“It will take just a moment for people to understand this is not fair,” Newton-Rex told the Guardian.
However, the tech industry still argues that AI training and fair pay for creators can go together. Antony Walker of trade group techUK told the Guardian that rights holders had been very effective at shouting down the debate in the UK.
In Australia, AI firms including OpenAI and Anthropic have asked the government to ease its rules. OpenAI has said it could not set up an Australian training centre without changes to copyright law, according to ABC News.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland’s office said it is still consulting on options that give creators meaningful control and fair payment.
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