Photo agencies band together in open letter pleading for AI rules

A coalition of photo agencies and media organisations has issued an open letter asking to address the impact of AI on intellectual property rights and copyright law.

Signatories of the letter include Getty Images, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, the European Pressphoto Agency, and the National Press Photographers Association.

The letter emphasises the urgent need for robust regulations to safeguard copyright in the context of training data used to develop generative AI models. These AI generator models have raised concerns regarding the rightful attribution and compensation for original creators of the content that fuels them.

The core principles outlined in the letter call for legislative actions that mandate transparency and accountability within AI model training datasets. The media organisations insist on obtaining consent from rights holders before incorporating their data into AI training processes.

The letter asks for a structured framework that empowers media companies to negotiate with AI model operators, ensuring fair use of copyrighted materials.

The letter also underscores the importance of implementing measures to eliminate biases in the data and output and ensuring that all AI-generated content is labelled as such.

The letter argues that the current practice of using AI-generated content without proper recognition or compensation to the original content maker affects the revenue streams of the media industry. “Such practices undermine the media industry’s core business models, which are predicated on readership and viewership (such as subscriptions), licensing, and advertising,” the letter says.

“In addition to violating copyright law, the resulting impact is to meaningfully reduce media diversity and undermine the financial viability of companies to invest in media coverage, further reducing the public’s access to high-quality and trustworthy information,” it continues.

The subject of AI models being trained on copyrighted material has captured the attention of lawmakers. Getty has already initiated legal suits alleging copyright infringement by generative AI art platforms.

While the letter underscores the potential benefits of generative AI to society, it insists on the necessity for a balanced approach that respects the rights of media entities.

[Via The Verge]