Human Rights, Robot Wrongs by Susie Alegre

Author:Susie Alegre
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Books

In 2015, well before the advent of generative AI, US copyright lawyer Chris Castle said, ‘what bothers me most about the massive, worldwide infringement of artist human rights is not just that major multinational corporations like Google are knee-deep in perpetuating this exploitation economy. It is that the governments of the world have done very little or nothing to stop it. And in that regard, these governments have failed to protect the human rights of artists.’21 The route to future protections may be found in the past.22 Different countries will take divergent approaches and we may see creative sanctuaries arise out of the ashes of global AI artistic Armageddon. States that protect and respect the creative arts will become the Petri dishes of the future of human culture. And ironically, the digital divide may be a benefit to artists who work in places where the power is often out.

Authors and artists cannot be expected to bear the burden of holding back the cultural tsunami that generative AI threatens around the world. States have an obligation to protect rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, and to legislate in ways that define both public and private interests in the cultural arena. Some states are being proactive. In September 2023, for instance, the French Assemblée Générale introduced a bill23 that would protect authors’ and artists’ rights against the onslaught of AI. It looks to ensure that authors and artists authorise use of their work before it can be utilised to train AI, and would guarantee that authors and artists are compensated for the use of their work. It would also introduce taxation for the use of work where the original author cannot be directly identified, and puts the collective management of rights in the hands of authorised organisations that act in the interests of artists and writers. Crucially, the bill (as drafted at the time of writing) would require work created by an AI to be clearly marked as such.

Recognising the fundamental difference between images created by machines and art is vital for the future of human creativity. Without this kind of differentiation, there won’t even be a two-tier system and the artistic pipeline will flatline. Skills and inspiration honed over millennia will dry up. Art will become ever more elitist, the preserve of tech bros as the only people able to afford it, even if they do not appreciate it. Art is about emotion and connection. Do we really want to let AI suck the joy out of our lives?

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.