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Over 200 celebrities have signed a letter submitted to AI developers by the Artist Rights Alliance nonprofit to put an end to AI. Stevie Wonder, Miranda Lambert, Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Peter Frampton, Katy Perry, Smokey Robinson and J Balvin are just a few confirmed names in a bid to stop platforms using AI “to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”
The Artist Rights Alliance is a collection of working musicians, performers, and songwriters fighting for a healthy creative economy and fair treatment for all creators in the digital world. They work to “defend and protect artists,” guided by the Artists’ Bill of Rights, which outlines fundamental principles for today’s music economy.
AI Can Be Both Beneficial and Damaging
The letter acknowledges the benefits of using AI while also addressing many of the cons affecting hard-working performers. Some of the glaring issues include the use of preexisting work to train AI models—without the knowledge of the artist—in an attempt to replace real human performers and therefore “substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists.”
Read the full letter here.
“When used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere.”
“This assault on human creativity must be stopped,” the letter continues. “We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artist’s voices and likeness, violate creator’s rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.”
Greta Van Fleet, Ja Rule, Camila Cabello, and Zayn Malik are a few more examples of prominent figureheads in the industry taking a stand against the use of AI.
Tennessee Was First To Take a Stand
According to ABC News, “Tennessee became the first state to pass legislation designed to protect songwriters, performers and other music industry professionals against the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.”
The ‘Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security’ Act or “ELVIS Act” goes into effect July 1.
“We employ more people in Tennessee in the music industry than any other state,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee told reporters shortly after signing the bill into law. “Artists have intellectual property. They have gifts. They have a uniqueness that is theirs and theirs alone, certainly not artificial intelligence.”
AI has been a big talking point for the entertainment industry for a while now. It was a major cause for concern for both the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA, becoming one of many reasons both organizations went on strike last year. In addition to AI, the strikes were led by changes in the industry caused by streaming services and their negative effect on residuals.
