Senate Committee recommends action on AI and ‘unprecedented theft’

27/11/2024

Protecting the Australian creative industries from AI, and respecting the rights of authors and publishers, is core to the final report and recommendations from the Senate Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence.

The report describes the unlicensed training of LLMs as an ‘unprecedented theft’, and underscores the need for ongoing consultation, transparency about training, a pathway to licensing, and mechanisms for remuneration.

The APA welcomes the recommendations, which align closely with our priorities on AI – a position shared with the Australian Society of Authors and Copyright Agency. Our respective submissions are frequently cited in the report, with key recommendations including:

  • Recommendation 3: The Australian Government should ensure that general-purpose AI models, such as large language models (LLMs), are explicitly included in the non-exhaustive list of high-risk AI uses. This is a vital step to acknowledge the far-reaching implications of these technologies.

  • Recommendation 4: That the Australian Government continue to increase the financial and non financial support it provides in support of sovereign AI capability in Australia, focusing on Australia’s existing areas of comparative advantage and unique First Nations perspectives.

  • Recommendation 8: The Government should continue consulting with creative workers, rights holders, and their representative organisations, including through the Copyright and AI Reference Group (CAIRG). This consultation is essential to address the unprecedented theft of creative works by multinational tech companies operating in Australia.

  • Recommendation 9: Developers of AI products must be transparent about the use of copyrighted works in their training datasets. Further, these works should be appropriately licensed and remunerated.

  • Recommendation 10: The Government should urgently consult the creative industry to establish mechanisms that ensure fair remuneration for creators when AI systems generate commercial outputs based on copyrighted material.

The APA will continue working with policymakers, and as part of CAIRG, to have these critical measures implemented to best support the Australian publishing industry. These recommendations would safeguard the rights of Australian creators, while continuing to foster innovation in AI.

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