LONDON — A newly released album titled “Is This What We Want?” brings together the talents of over 1,000 musicians, yet rather than melodies, it presents the sound of silence. This project, which includes contributions from celebrated artists such as Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens, and Damon Albarn, was launched on Tuesday as a statement against upcoming changes to the UK’s artificial intelligence regulations that many artists fear could compromise their creative autonomy.
The UK government is currently considering a proposal that would permit technology companies to utilize copyrighted content as a means to train AI models, except in cases where the content creators actively opt-out. The artistic community voices strong resistance, arguing this move might weaken their hold on their creations and harm Britain’s cultural sectors. Notable figures like Elton John and Paul McCartney have already voiced their dissent over these potential changes.
The album poignantly features recordings of vacant studios and performance spaces, symbolizing the potential threat to creative venues should the proposal be enacted. The track titles together form a clear message: “The British government must not legalize music theft to benefit AI companies.” All proceeds from the album are set to support the musicians’ charity, Help Musicians.
Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and AI developer who led the album’s creation, stated, “The government’s proposal would essentially give AI companies access to musicians’ life’s work for free, enabling these companies to exploit artists’ work to outperform them.” He warned that this would be disastrous not only for musicians but also is an avoidable course of action. Newton-Rex elaborated that the UK could indeed lead in AI innovation without undermining its prominent creative industries.
The UK’s center-left Labour Party government has expressed intentions to position the country as a global forerunner in AI technology. Back in December, they initiated a consultation aimed at examining how intellectual property laws might allow creators and rights holders to maintain control over their works and gain compensation when used for AI training, whilst ensuring that AI developers have straightforward access to diverse, high-quality creative content. This consultation period is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday.
In response, numerous publishers, artists’ groups, and media entities have allied under the Creative Rights in AI Coalition to counteract any diminishing of copyright safeguards. On Tuesday, several UK newspapers prominently featured cover wraps criticizing the government’s consultations, advocating for the protection of the creative industries under the rallying call, “Let’s protect the creative industries — it’s only fair.”
