Members of Australia’s main union for artsworkers and journalists say they will continue to campaign for stronger copyright protection associated with the use of Artificial Intelligence.
The Media, Arts and Entertainment Alliance held an online meeting last week as part of its Stop Creative Theft campaign.
Union leaders have launched a new phase of the campaign called Stop AI Theft and told meeting participants they would lobby parliamentarians in the new year to ensure tech companies don’t get the right to take original work without fair compensation.
One key union concern was the protection of First Nations culture, in particular Australia’s many indigenous languages, against AI distortion and copyright abuse.
Members also heard particular calls for greater copyright protection for musicians, including session musicians, and actors, including voice over actors.
AI contract clauses ‘not enough’ to protect original gig workers
One MEAA member said he was a voice actor and that a YouTube channel operator had converted his voice into seven languages without any consent or compensation despite him having full copyright.
Members heard suggestions of negotiating licence fees for their work in such instances but of concerns many workers wouldn’t have the resources and individual pressure wasn’t a sustainable solution.
The union said the current Labor-led federal government appeared relatively progressive on workers’ rights so far, citing regulations brought in for the so-called ‘gig economy’, referring to drivers and food couriers for on-demand service apps.
But MEAA would continue to fight for workers in ‘the original gig economy,’ campaign organisers said.
‘We have been reasonably successful here and there,’ MEAA CEO Erin Madeley told the meeting when it came to the introduction of AI clauses into worker agreements.
‘But negotiating through employment contracts is not enough,’ she said.
Ms Madeley said support from other unions was also important.
Open letter demands AI companies pay up
An open letter to AI companies written by the union had attracted more than 1,100 signatures by end of day Monday.
‘We are calling out the business practices of your companies as theft,’ the letter read.
‘Millions of images, songs, articles, and films have been scraped without the knowledge, consent, or compensation of creative workers,’ the letter continued, ‘without this theft, your AI models would have been obsolete.’
‘We demand to be paid when our work is used by your company, and we demand compensation for the work you have stolen from us.’
Other campaign information referred to a recent survey of MEAA members in the creative and media industries showing 71% were ‘extremely concerned about the loss of human-led creativity’.
MEAA said accuracy and ethics were also at risk owing to AI.
‘AI-generated content can spread misinformation and erode public trust,’ the union said.
* Mia Armitage is a member of MEAA
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