SUBMISSION: Select Committee on Adopting AI

On 10 May 2024 Arts Law made a submission to the Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI). The committee called for submissions about the opportunities for and impact on Australia arising out of the uptake of AI technologies in Australia.

Our submission focused on the impact of generative AI technologies on artists. Generative AI includes software or tools that generate creative output. This might be music, visual art, poetry, comics, movie scripts, designs and more. ChatGPT and Midjourney are examples of generative AI. You can find out more about AI and copyright in our info sheet.

We used this opportunity to spotlight some of the concerns identified by our clients in the joint survey with the National Association of the Visual Arts and the Australian Society of Authors last year. Our 2023 submission highlighted the perceived threats to the creative professions, the affects on income from creative work and the potential loss of jobs. It also discussed the way the free reign of generative AI technology has led to an undermining of the existing law in Australia supporting and incentivising creative output.

We also highlighted the impact of generative AI on First Nations creators and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property.

Arts Law acknowledges the possibilities for creative expression through responsible use of generative AI, particularly where options for licensing and acknowledgement of underlying content and creators are in place. Artists should be able to give their consent for their work to be used, rather than have it scraped or ingested without their permission or compensation. Arts Law urges the Government to regulate and safeguard appropriately, implementing checks and balances that ensure respect is afforded to artists and their work.

Arts Law participates on the steering committee of the Attorney-General’s Copyright and Artificial Intelligence Reference Group and continues to track developments in generative AI and how it affects the creative industries and intersects with artists’ rights. If you have any questions, or need help in your own practice, please get in touch.

The full submission can be read here.