Labor rules out AI copyright carveout for big tech companies

The federal government has ruled out giving big tech an exemption that would have opened the door to training artificial intelligence models on copyrighted material without legal consequences.

Some AI proponents have been calling on the government to create a specific copyright exception that would free up companies to use Australian creative works in training the large language models behind services such as ChatGPT.

Earlier this year, the Productivity Commission began looking into possible law changes to make the most of the emerging technology, finding it could add $116 billion to the Australian economy over the next decade if not stifled by new laws.

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"Like any new technology, AI comes with risks. But we can address many of these risks by refining and amending the rules and frameworks we already have in place," Productivity Commissioner Stephen King said in August.

"Adding economy-wide regulations that specifically target AI could see Australia fall behind the curve, limiting a potentially enormous growth opportunity."

One of the contentious elements in the interim report was whether to grant a "fair dealing" copyright exception for text and data mining.

It pointed to exceptions of some sort in the European Union, US, UK, Japan and Singapore, noting an Australian version would cover "not just AI model training" but also some techniques used by non-AI researchers to ingest large datasets.

"It should also be noted that a TDM exception would not be a 'blank cheque' for all copyrighted materials to be used as inputs into all AI models," the commission said.

" …The use must also be considered 'fair' in the circumstances – this requirement would act as a check on copyrighted works being used unfairly, preserving the integrity of the copyright holder's legal and commercial interests in the work.

"There may be a need for legislative criteria or regulatory guidance about what types of uses are likely to be considered fair."

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The PC asked for submissions on the data mining question, with a final report due later this year, but the Labor government has already made up its mind, ruling out an exception altogether.

"Artificial Intelligence presents significant opportunities for Australia and our economy, however it's important that Australian creatives benefit from these opportunities too," Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said in a statement released last night.

"Australian creatives are not only world-class, but they are also the lifeblood of Australian culture, and we must ensure the right legal protections are in place.

"This government has repeatedly said that there are no plans to weaken copyright protections when it comes to AI."

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Opposition Leader Sussan Ley previously made her feelings known about tech companies using data from Australian people, artists and media to train their AI models.

"It's not appropriate for big tech to steal and use it for their own ends without paying for it," she said in August.

The government's copyright and AI reference group is meeting today and tomorrow to look at ways to encourage fair, legal avenues for using copyright material in AI, clarify or update how the laws work and examine the potential for a less expensive for lower-value copyright claims 

"The tech industry and the creative sector must now come together and find sensible and workable solutions to support innovation while ensuring creators are compensated," Rowland said.

"The government will support these next steps through the renewed focus tasked to the copyright and AI reference group."

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