Jimmy Page has described the UK Government’s policy proposals for AI governance as a “sham” that offers a “free pass” for artificial intelligence to exploit the work of musicians and other artists without their consent or fair compensation.
In a statement posted to Instagram account, the Led Zeppelin guitarist said the UK Government’s proposals for a so-called opt-out system were “technically impossible”.
Under the government’s policy proposals, tech companies would be allowed to train AI models on existing works of art unless the original copyright holders explicitly choose not to allow their copyrighted works to be used for this purpose. Page says this is unworkable.
“Under the Data (Use and Access) Bill, AI companies would be allowed to take works, past and future, and use them as training data without consent or payment,” wrote Page. “These models digest vast amounts of human-created content and then generate imitations, bypassing the rights of the original creators.
“The government’s proposed ‘opt-out’ system – the idea that artists will always be in a position to preemptively reserve their rights – is a sham. It is technically impossible for artists to opt out… we should be clear: this is not regulation; it is a free pass for AI to exploit creativity without consequence.”
Page is not alone in voicing his concerns about how the evolution of AI threatens artists. Kate Bush, Damon Albarn and Hans Zimmer were among more than a thousand musicians who put their name to a silent album, This What We Want?, released to protest the use of recorded works to train generative AI.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Brian May said he feared it was too late too late to put the genie back in the bottle, cautioning that if the regulation around AI and copyright was insufficiently robust, the future of the music industry was under threat.
“My fear is that it’s already too late – this theft has already been performed and is unstoppable,” said May. “Like so many incursions that the monstrously arrogant billionaire owners of Al and social media are making into our lives. The future is already forever changed.”
Page’s sentiments were echoed by researchers from Cambridge University. In a report authored by the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, researchers urged caution, advising that a “robust economic analysis” of the impact on the UK’s creative industries was required.
If, during my session days, someone had taken my riffs without acknowledgment or payment, it would have been deemed theft. The same standard must apply to AI
Jimmy Page
The report argued that a robust regulatory framework was needed to protect a sector that had contributed contributed £124.6 billion to the UK economy in 2022.
“Opt-out options are not fool-proof solutions to these problems,” reads the report. “First, it will be difficult to decide on and enforce a technical measure for opt out. Smaller and less established creators may be left behind as they may not have the skills, knowledge, or resources to issue opt out notifications.
“Second, placing the onus on copyright holders to actively assert their rights places an unfair burden on them, especially small copyright holders who may not have the technical expertise or means to do so.”
Page says that we have arrived at a hinge moment in human history, a moment of greater significance than a mere rights issue in the music industry; the ethical issues posed by Generative AI’s evolving capabilities are “profound”.
“When AI scrapes the vast tapestry of human creativity to generate content, it often does so without consent, attribution, or compensation. This is not innovation; it’s exploitation,” he writes. “If, during my session days, someone had taken my riffs without acknowledgment or payment, it would have been deemed theft. The same standard must apply to AI.”
You can read Page’s statement in full above. It serves as a moment of clarity, if needed, as to how serious the implications are for musicians (and all artists and creatives), and also as a love letter to the arts, to the struggles, the stories and the humanity behind it – which is why we are all here in the first place.
