Last week, California Representative Adam Schiff introduced new legislation that would require companies to be more upfront and transparent with consumers when they train generative AI models using copyrighted work.
The Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act would make it so that companies need to submit a notice to the Register of Copyrights before they release an AI system that was trained on copyrighted works. This would also retroactively apply to models previously released that fit the requirements.
“AI has the disruptive potential of changing our economy, our political system, and our day-to-day lives. We must balance the immense potential of AI with the crucial need for ethical guidelines and protections. My Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act is a pivotal step in this direction. It champions innovation while safeguarding the rights and contributions of creators, ensuring they are aware when their work contributes to AI training datasets. This is about respecting creativity in the age of AI and marrying technological progress with fairness,” said Schiff.
It has received support from a number of organizations — particularly in the creative space — including the Directors Guild of America, SAG-AFTRA, both East and West chapters of the Writers Guild of America, and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), to name a few.
“Everything generated by AI ultimately originates from a human creative source. That’s why human creative content—intellectual property—must be protected. SAG-AFTRA fully supports the Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act, as this legislation is an important step in ensuring technology serves people and not the other way around,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator at SAG-AFTRA.
Elizabeth Matthews, CEO of ASCAP, added: “Without transparency around the use of copyrighted works in training artificial intelligence, creators will never be fairly compensated and AI tech companies will continue stealing from songwriters. This bill is an important step toward ensuring that the law puts humans first, and we thank Congressman Schiff for his leadership.”