In an impressive display of cross-genre solidarity, more than 200 major musicians and artists joined forces to publicly denounce the rampant development of AI technologies that could undermine human creativity and deprive creators of fair remuneration.
Hundreds of artists have come together to warn of the existential risks that irresponsible AI poses to the music industry ecosystem. The open letter, supported by superstars like Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Camila Cabello, Elvis Costello, Imagine Dragons, Jonas Brothers, Pearl Jam and many othersdirectly calls on technology companies and music platforms to “ stop using artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe and devalue the rights of human artists “.
“ When used irresponsibly, AI poses enormous threats to our ability to protect our privacy, identities, music and livelihoods “, the letter states unequivocally. “ For many musicians, artists and songwriters trying to make ends meet, this would be catastrophic “.
AI uses artists’ works without their consent
At the heart of the musicians’ protest is the way in which artificial intelligence systems are trained on masses of creative works protected by copyright, without consent or compensation. Whether it’s music, lyrics, writing samples or artwork, these models digest and regurgitate human expression for commercial gain.
As the letter states, “ some of the largest and most powerful companies are using our work without permission to train AI models… This assault on human creativity must be stopped “.
AI could soon replace artists
The implications go beyond simple synthetic mimicry of artists’ unique voices and musical styles. There are also concerns that AI tools could replace human-made commercial music signalswhich would disrupt the main sources of income on which musicians depend.
Jen Jacobson, executive director of the Artists Rights Alliance, an artists’ association that organized the campaign, calls it an existential battle: ” Working musicians are already struggling to get by… now they have to deal with a deluge of AI-generated noise. Unethical use of generative AI to replace human artists will devalue the entire music ecosystem “.
The musicians then ask companies to commit to never “ develop or deploy AI music generation technology, content or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deprive us of fair compensation for our work “. This rallying cry echoes a similar protest letter signed by more than 15,000 authors last summer, denouncing the exploitation of AI language models on their copyrighted books, without consent or payment. An award-winning author had also used AI for her best-seller.
Part of the problem is that existing copyright laws do not provide no clear safeguards to manage the ethical complexities created by AI’s ability to imitate and recompose the artistic works that form its algorithms.
The letter does not outright dismiss the artistic potential of AI, recognizing its ability to “ advance human creativity » if it is deployed responsibly and ethically. But the signatories remain skeptical, rightly so, given the repeated poor judgments of tech giants seeking breakthroughs in AI. The letter then ends with an unequivocal call to action: “ We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal the voices and likenesses of professional artists, violate the rights of creators, and destroy the music ecosystem “.