Select committee: Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Eleventh Report - Connected tech: AI and creative technology

HC 1643 Published 30 August 2023

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee Connected tech: smart or sinister? Report on parliament.uk ↗

At a glance8 recommendations and 3 conclusions · Government response published 11 January 2024

The government's response

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government thanks the Committee and "notes the findings", agrees that connected technology could cause unintended harm if left unaddressed, and says its forthcoming response to the AI regulation white paper, with the Cultural Education Plan and a copyright and AI code of practice, will "in due course" provide more detailed responses to a number of recommendations.

On AI regulation, the government "recognises" the need for regulator skills and strong central coordination, says it has "already established a central risk function" and is "implementing a coordination function", and will give further details in its forthcoming white paper response.
On copyright, it states it "is not proceeding with its original proposal for a broad copyright exception for text and data mining". It is instead developing a code of practice on copyright and AI, and intends to set out the outcomes of that work "in early 2024".
On the Beijing Treaty, it has "committed to implementing and ratifying" it and expects it to come into force "in the latter half of 2024" once legislation is in place. It "accept[s] the limitations" of the Treaty on misuse of likenesses, and the IPO will "explore the case for stronger protections".
On the Cultural Education Plan, it says it "will publish" the Plan "in the coming months", and that the Plan will help strengthen talent pipelines into cultural and creative sectors such as CreaTech.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

What the committee recommended 11

1
Clarify how non-tech sector regulators will build AI expertise and ensure joined-up working. Recommendation · paragraph 19
2
Set out a plan to upskill and resource non-digital sector regulators for the AI regime. Recommendation · paragraph 20
3
Establish a discrete AI regulation co-ordination unit within Whitehall to publish regular progress reports. Recommendation · paragraph 21
4
Current text and data mining framework appropriately balances innovation and creator rights. Conclusion · paragraph 30
5
Cease pursuing broad text and data mining copyright exemption; promote strong licensing schemes. Recommendation · paragraph 31

See all 11 recommendations and conclusions

Sources

Eleventh Report - Connected tech: AI and creative technology ↗The committee's report, HC 1643, parliament.uk
Third Special Report - Connected tech: AI and creative technology: Government Response to the Committee’s Eleventh Report of Session 2022–23 ↗The government's response, 11 January 2024, parliament.uk

Recommendations and conclusions 11

1
Clarify how non-tech sector regulators will build AI expertise and ensure joined-up working. Recommendation · paragraph 19 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Recommendation (the committee's words)
We welcome the Government’s sensible proposals for regulating AI, including taking a sectoral approach underpinned by six cross-sector principles. However, there are outstanding weaknesses with this approach that the Government should clarify, including ensuring that sector regulators who do not currently regulate in the tech sector will build up technical expertise and are working in a joined-up manner.
2
Set out a plan to upskill and resource non-digital sector regulators for the AI regime. Recommendation · paragraph 20 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government should set out a plan to provide upskilling and resourcing for non- digital sector regulators to ensure they can meet the needs of the new cross-sector regulatory regime for AI.
3
Establish a discrete AI regulation co-ordination unit within Whitehall to publish regular progress reports. Recommendation · paragraph 21 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government has announced that it intends to take on a central support role to buttress the regime for AI regulation and provide cross-sector cohesion. The Government should establish a discrete AI regulation co-ordination unit within Whitehall to ensure coherent working and enable robust stakeholder engagement. This unit should publish regular reports to enable Parliament to fully consider the progress of the regime’s introduction and implementation.
4
Current text and data mining framework appropriately balances innovation and creator rights. Conclusion · paragraph 30 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Conclusion (the committee's words)
We are pleased that the Government has been listening to stakeholders on text and data mining intellectual property for commercial benefit and we are encouraged that Ministers are looking again at this. The current framework, which provides an exemption for text and data mining for non-commercial research purposes and otherwise allows creators to licence their work for any further purpose, provides an appropriate balance between innovation and creator rights.
5
Cease pursuing broad text and data mining copyright exemption; promote strong licensing schemes. Recommendation · paragraph 31 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that the Government does not pursue plans for a broad text and data mining exemption to copyright. Instead, the Government should proactively support small AI developers in particular, who may find difficulties in acquiring licences, by reviewing how licensing schemes can be introduced for technical material and how mutually-beneficial arrangements can be struck with rights management organisations and creative industries trade bodies. The Government should support the continuance of a strong copyright regime in the UK and be clear that licences are required to use copyrighted content in AI. In line with our previous work, this Committee also believes that the Government should act to ensure that creators are well rewarded in the copyright regime.
6
Regain creative industries' trust; ensure transparency, recourse, and redress for AI use. Recommendation · paragraph 32 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government must work to regain the trust of the creative industries following its abortive attempt to introduce a broad text and data mining exemption. The Government should consider how creatives can ensure transparency and, if necessary, recourse and redress if they suspect that AI developers are wrongfully using their works in AI development.
7
Provide substantive update by year-end on managing AI's impact on creative industries. Recommendation · paragraph 33 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government’s initial handing of the text and data mining exemption to copyright for AI development, though eventually correct, shows a clear lack of understanding of the needs of the UK’s creative industries. All branches of Government need to better understand the impact of AI, and technology more broadly, on the creative Connected tech: AI and creative technology 35 industries and be able to defend their interests consistently. We will continue to look on the Government’s progress with interest. The Government should provide a substantive update on its direction in managing the impact of AI on the creative industries and any discussions on these matters by the end of 2023.
8
Ensure support for creative industries encourages artists' innovation in emerging technologies and cultural institutions' investment. Conclusion · paragraph 49 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Conclusion (the committee's words)
While institutions are understandably investing in products such as the metaverse and generative AI, this should not be to the exclusion of novel and emerging technologies, which are enabling artists to innovate and attract audiences. In order to encourage a rich and diverse cultural and creative technology ecosystem, the Government and its arm’s-length bodies should ensure support for the creative industries encourages artists to push the boundaries of creativity and technology and is not limited to following the narrow interests of the tech sector. Cultural institutions should be encouraged and supported by the Government to invest in, present and preserve the results of creative technology.
9
Ensure Cultural Education Plan explicitly addresses digital skills shortages in creative technology sectors. Conclusion · paragraph 54 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Conclusion (the committee's words)
As we have repeatedly raised, the tech sector and creative industries are experiencing long-standing skills and personnel shortages that have capped the potential for growth. The Government’s forthcoming Cultural Education Plan should explicitly discuss how educators can combine digital skills provision with creative and cultural education to nurture the next generation of digital artists, visual effects professionals and innovators in creative technology to address long-running skills shortages in the sector.
10
Urgently clarify the scope and timescale for the Cultural Education Plan. Recommendation · paragraph 55 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government’s Cultural Education Plan Expert Advisory Panel has only recently been appointed, almost a year after the appointment of its chair and well over six months after Government said it would appoint its members. We have serious misgivings about the Government’s insistence that it will publish the Plan in 2023 as promised, which we believe will now either be rushed or late. Neither of these outcomes will serve the needs and interests of our creative industries. The Government must urgently clarify the scope and timescale for the Cultural Education Plan, to ensure it will deliver on its aims for the creative industries.
11
Improve protections for creatives from generative AI misuse by urgently ratifying the Beijing Treaty. Recommendation · paragraph 61 · addressed to Department for Culture, Media and Sport Recommendation (the committee's words)
The rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence and the impact this is already having on the ability of artists to protect their moral rights means that urgent action is necessary. The Government should improve protections for creatives to prevent misuse of their likeness and performances by emerging technologies such as generative AI. At minimum, this should involve bringing forward ratification of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances by the time it responds to this report.