Over 11,000 Creatives Oppose Unauthorized AI Training

Over 11,500 creative professionals, including well-known figures like Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore, acclaimed author James Patterson, and Radiohead's musician Thom Yorke, have joined forces by signing an open letter. The letter demands that the unauthorized use of human-created art for training artificial intelligence should stop immediately.

In a strong statement, the letter claims, "The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a profound and unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works and must not be permitted." This message conveys the worries of many artists and content creators regarding their work being used without consent.

As generative AI technology develops rapidly, the absence of clear federal regulations has fueled confusion and criticism about the datasets that AI companies employ for their models. In recent years, many artists and businesses have publicly criticized tech giants for supposedly using their work without permission.

Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and former executive at Stability AI, highlighted the urgent need for regulations that protect creators around the world. He stated, "Many generative AI companies are utilizing the works of creators without obtaining proper licenses. This issue affects countless artists, musicians, actors, authors, and other creators whose contributions are being exploited by AI entities." Newton-Rex also founded Fairly Trained, a nonprofit organization aimed at certifying AI companies that utilize consensual training data.

Since becoming public on Tuesday, the letter has attracted hundreds of additional supporters. Notably, Fran Drescher, actress and president of SAG-AFTRA (the union representing many Hollywood actors), is among the signatories. Various organizations, including famous publishing houses and music labels, have also added their support.

The threat of generative AI potentially replacing human jobs is a significant concern for actors, video game performers, and other professionals in the creative industry. Major publishers, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, have taken legal action against AI companies like OpenAI and Perplexity AI for copyright violations. Meanwhile, companies like Condé Nast and Hearst have struck content-sharing deals with OpenAI, allowing its products (e.g., ChatGPT and SearchGPT) to feature content from their media outlets.

In June, prominent record labels joined forces to sue major AI music-making platforms, alleging that those companies trained their models using vast amounts of copyrighted music without appropriate permissions.

The increasing availability of AI tools capable of producing realistic content—ranging from entire songs to music videos and advertisements—has raised numerous legal and ethical issues for artists. Many are worried about the potential of generative AI technologies to undercut human effort and compensation, especially when AI can recreate celebrities' likenesses without authorization.

Earlier in the year, musician Drake had to remove a diss track from circulation after facing a potential lawsuit from the estate of Tupac Shakur over the unauthorized use of the late rapper's AI-generated voice. Similarly, AI-generated advertisements have misused the images of famous figures such as Taylor Swift, MrBeast, Scarlett Johansson, and Morgan Freeman for promoting various products.

Currently, no comprehensive laws exist in the United States to manage the development of AI technology. However, several states are starting to propose specific regulations, particularly concerning deepfakes. Just last month, California enacted two new laws designed to protect actors and performers from unauthorized use of their digital likenesses.

creatives, AI, regulation