February 24, 2025 – Over 2000 cultural figures have united to urge the British government to preserve existing legal protections that ensure sustainable incomes for artists and writers, in a letter published on the 23rd, according to a report by The Guardian. The letter, titled “Don’t gift our work to AI billionaires,” protests a clause in the upcoming AI Opportunity Action Plan, which they allege aims to undermine copyright and intellectual property laws for broader data mining.
Signatories expressed their understanding of the government’s desire to stimulate economic growth but expressed dismay at the apparent eagerness to package creativity as an “attractive gift” to automated competitors. Children’s book author and illustrator Gad Adamson questioned the wisdom of allowing AI, such as ChatGPT, to create artworks for children, arguing that it robbed them of the opportunity to create and express themselves.
“Why should we collect creativity on a large scale to produce something soulless, which not only deprives us of our income but may even ultimately rob us of our ability to think creatively?” Adamson pondered. His colleague, Benji Davis, voiced concerns that the “foundations of the entire creative culture” are at risk of being sold out, with no apparent long-term benefits for creators.
The campaign also aims to dispel misconceptions about AI, emphasizing that it lacks true innovative capabilities and can only regurgitate past content, unable to discard old prejudices or introduce fresh perspectives. Susie Alegre, author of “Human Rights, Robot Wrongs – Humanity in the Age of AI,” warned that if human culture and creativity are not protected now, the future might lose its essentially human meaning.
Picture book creator Chris Haughton emphasized that the issue was not “anti-technology” but rather the manner in which generative AI operates, which he described as “stealing” rather than creating. He cautioned that if the government acquiesces to lobbyists, the billions generated by the creative industries could flow directly into the technology sector.
