More than 200 influential musical artists, among them Pearl Jam, Nicki Minaj, Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, and the estate of Frank Sinatra, have penned an open letter condemning the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in ways that undermine the rights and value of human creators.
The letter, unveiled on Tuesday, serves as a call to action directed at AI developers, technology firms, online platforms, and digital music services, urging them to cease practices that encroach upon the artistic integrity and livelihoods of musicians worldwide.
The Artist Rights Alliance, which is spearheading the protest, in post on X said, "It use that devalues music and infringes upon the rights of human artists."
Since the emergence of the first mainstream AI image generators in 2022, visual artists have voiced concerns about the impact of generative AI. The protest has now spread to professionals in various creative fields, including writers, actors, filmmakers, and most recently, musicians.
"When used irresponsibly, AI poses enormous threats to our ability to protect our privacy, our identities, our music and our livelihoods," the open letter read.
In January, Billboard reported that Google DeepMind was conducting AI research involving a music-generating AI trained on copyrighted music without artist permission. The development potentially referred to Google's Lyria, a model introduced in November, touted by the company as a tool to augment human creativity.
The Artists Rights Alliance is a nonprofit advocacy group comprising working musicians, performers, and songwriters. They advocate for a fair creative economy and equitable treatment for all creators in the digital realm.
In the letter, the artists expressed concern that unrestricted AI will lead to a downward spiral, diminishing the worth of their work and hindering fair compensation and expressed fear of AI's misuse to plagiarising artists' voices and identities.
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