Artificial intelligence and new technology in creative industries

Devyani Gajjar; Lois Jeary

Overview

Recent years have seen a rapid development in the use of digital technologies by arts, cultural and heritage organisations. This was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which drove artists to explore new ways of working and enabled wider audiences to access arts and culture online (PN669). Yet questions remain about the impact of new technologies on how arts and culture is created, consumed and valued.

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence tools that generate images, text, code and other types of media, including audio or video, in response to prompts (AI glossary, PB57). A POST consultation of research experts identified generative AI as one of the most significant technological advancements that could impact the creative industries over the next five years, including:

generative AI’s interaction with intellectual property (IP)
the consent and remuneration of the creative workforce

Another example of new technologies shaping how people make and experience arts and culture is creative technology, or ‘CreaTech’, which refers to the intersection of creative and digital sectors. CreaTech describes innovations in technology transforming cultural experiences, creative processes and artistic outputs, and the power of creativity is harnessed to advance technology in turn.[1] Examples include creative applications of:

AI
virtual reality, meaning a fully simulated virtual world often experienced with a headset (PB61)
augmented reality, meaning technologies that allow users to see the physical world augmented by a digital overlay (PB61)
haptic technologies that allow users to experience touch such as by vibrations (PB61)

The UK’s creative and digital sectors are economic growth areas, contributing £124.6 billion and £158.3 billion respectively in 2022.[2] In 2020 the UK ranked third globally for investment in CreaTech, behind the USA and China.[3] However, the skills necessary to grow UK creative industries are currently in short supply.[4][5]

Challenges and opportunities

Generative AI could co-create media, such as film or audio, with creators. For example: [6][7][8]

YouTube is partnering with musicians to enable users to generate tracks using those artists’ vocals
in the visual arts, the use of generative AI is being compared to artists’ adoption of previous technologies like photography
researchers at the Royal Northern College of Music are building AI tools and datasets to interrogate its role in creative practice

In oral evidence given to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee for an inquiry on ‘British film and high-end television’, one filmmaker said in 2024 that if creators “embrace it, harness it and learn what it can do for us”, AI “will be a story-telling tool”.[9]

Yet generative AI also poses legal challenges:

What status should AI-generated works have under copyright law?[10]
Large generative AI models are trained using vast datasets scraped from the internet (PB57). These models can output written, visual, aural or audio-visual works that can mimic the style of specific human creators if their works are present in the datasets (PN708). How does the training of AI tools on datasets that include copyrighted works interact with IP rights and the copyright regime?[11]
How can creators find out if their IP has been used without permission, and what redress can they receive if misuse has occurred?[12]

To address these questions, rightsholders such as Getty are challenging AI developers in the courts and some developers are making tools to undermine AI that is trained on images without the creator’s permission.[13][14] Collective licensing solutions are also being developed as a way for AI developers to licence the work of multiple creative rightsholders in one go.[15] Some AI developers are developing AI models that are not trained on unlicensed copyrighted work.[16] Nonprofit organisations, such as Fairly Trained set up in 2024, certify AI companies that do not use unlicensed copyrighted work.[16] Parliamentarians and creative organisations have warned that the Government must establish answers to these questions to safeguard the copyright regime that underpins our creative economy.[12][17][18]

There are also workforce implications from generative AI in the creative industries. Voice artists, including in the games industry, have voiced concerns about their roles being taken by AI-generated replicas.[19][20] Analysts have questioned what a rise in AI-generated music will mean for the value of recorded music and the role of musicians.[21]

Concerns about how creative workers consent to their work or likenesses being used by generative AI tools and are rewarded for that were central to the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.[22][23] Some academics have argued it is in the interests of AI developers to ensure creatives are incentivised to keep making work, given that AI tools rely on high quality creative works in their training data to produce realistic outputs.[24] How these issues unfold could influence the attractiveness and viability of creative workers careers in the future.

Holders of large digital collections and digital assets, including writers, publishers, graphic artists, news organisations, UK music, directors, arts organisations, museums and heritage institutions are also considering how to manage, and leverage, their digital assets in relation to AI.[25] Museums are currently grappling with various ethical issues, such as how to acknowledge museum collections and narratives from Indigenous peoples and people of colour lost from colonial history, often known as decolonising.[26] Academics have highlighted questions around the ethical use of digital collections, such as how data could be repatriated and how decolonising museum collections could shift from the physical to the digital realm.[27][28]

CreaTech offers opportunities to grow the creative and digital industries and is starting to offer new experiences in people’s cultural lives (PN669). Examples include:[29][30]

shows such as ABBA Voyage that feature four digital representations of each ABBA member as the band appeared in the 1970s
AI, digitisation and augmented and virtual reality projects forecasting fashion trends, immersive catwalks, showrooms and sustainable e-commerce
augmented and virtual reality creating immersive experiences to help showcase existing and future products and services
3D visualisations in architecture enabling collaborative workflows and better design option presentations

In June 2023 the government said the UK’s “competitive advantage in both sectors [digital and creative] means this country has an unparalleled opportunity in the decades ahead”.[31]

However, despite the term ‘CreaTech’ being widely used across research and policymaking, the definition and understanding of it remains vague.[32] Official Government statistics do not capture ‘CreaTech’ as a specific area of economic activity, which limits analysis of its growth and impact.[33]

Following the decline in the number of students studying arts subjects, there are concerns about the availability of skills to grow creative and digital in the economy (PN669).[4][5]

Key uncertainties/unknowns

The legal framework for generative AI is being tested in the courts in the UK and overseas but is unlikely to be resolved quickly. This could result in prolonged uncertainty for creatives about if and how to use generative AI, and if their creative rights will be protected.[12]

Even as the legal aspects of generative AI become better established, research is lacking on its potential effects on value chains, job roles and incentives to join creative professions.

The capabilities of generative AI tools are developing rapidly, yet there is uncertainty around how audiences feel about its creative applications, and therefore how it will be used by artists and organisations.[34]

In March 2024 the Labour party plan for the creative industries said it intended to “find the right balance between fostering innovation in AI while ensuring protection for creators and the ongoing viability of the creative industries” as it “believes both in human-centred creativity and the potential of AI to unlock new creative frontiers.”[35] Striking that balance will require engagement with both the creative industries and AI developers.[35] However, this has proven difficult to date, with the government announcing in February 2024 that an Intellectual Property Office working group was unable to broker a voluntary code between rights holders and AI developers (RR15).[36] Following this announcement, in the summer of 2024, creative networks of researchers, stakeholders, experts and businesses have been trying to establish agreement on a path forward.[37]

The Intellectual Property Office is also consulting on the implementation of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, which would strengthen intellectual property rights for performers. However, the timelines for implementation are unclear.[38]

Key questions for Parliament

What is an appropriate balance between fostering innovation in AI and protecting the sustainability of the creative industries?
Are further legal protections needed to protect the rights of performers and creators in the light of generative AI?
What is the likelihood of industrial action in the UK’s creative industries over the use of generative AI?
Are changes to the curriculum needed to equip young people with the skills to work in creative technology?
What upskilling and re-training is needed to equip existing workers in the creative industries to utilise creative technology?
Should public service broadcasters, or organisations in receipt of public funding, be held to certain standards when it comes to the use of generative AI?

References

[1] Creative Industries Council (2021). How CreaTech added 1+1 to make £981m.

[2] Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (2024). Digital Sector Economic Estimates Gross Value Added 2022 (provisional).

[3] Creative Industries Council (2022). 2022 CreaTech Tech Nation Report Slides.

[4] Cultural Learning Alliance (2024). Culture Learning Alliance Report Card 2024.

[5] Bazalgette, P. (2023). We are not exploiting ‘createch’ enough. Financial Times.

[6] Leeming, Z. (2024). Sounds from the Funhouse Machine: AI in Composition. Royal Northern College of Music.

[7] Cohen, L., et al. (2023). An early look at the possibilities as we experiment with AI. Youtube Official Blog.

[8] Hutson, J., et al. (2023). Generative AI and Algorithmic Art: Disrupting the Framing of Meaning and Rethinking the Subject- Object Dilemma. Global Journal of Computer Science and Technology:D, Volume 23, 1, pages 55-61.

[9] House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee (2024). Oral evidence: British film and high-end television, HC 157. Q98

[10] Lucchi, N. (2023). ChatGPT: A Case Study on Copyright Challenges for Generative Artificial Intelligence Systems. European Journal of Risk Regulation, pages 1-23.

[11] Guadamuz, A. (2023). A Scanner Darkly: Copyright Liability and Exceptions in Artificial Intelligence Inputs and Outputs. GRUR International 2/2024 (Forthcoming).

[12] House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee (2024). Large language models and generative AI.

[13] ReedSmith (2024). Getty v. Stability AI case goes to trial in the UK – what we learned.

[14] Heikkilä, M. (2023). This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI. MIT Technology Review.

[15] Nawotka, E. (2024). CCC Launches Collective Licensing for AI. Publishers Weekly.

[16] Fairly Trained (online). Fairly Trained certified models.

[17] House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee (2024). Creator remuneration.

[18] Publishers Association (2023). Trade Bodies issue joint statement on Artificial Intelligence.

[19] Weaver, J. (2023). Why the SAG-AFTRA contract might let AI kill voice acting. CBC News.

[20] Gerken, T. (2024). Gaming voice actors blindsided by ‘garbage’ union AI deal. BBC.

[21] Music Business Worldwide (2023). Analysts are starting to believe that AI may be an existential threat for the major labels. Is that overly pessimistic?

[22] Writers Guild of America (online). Summary of the 2023 WGA MBA.

[23] Maddaus, G. (2023). SAG-AFTRA Strike: AI Fears Mount for Background Actors. Variety.

[24] Senftleben, M. (2023). Generative AI and Author Remuneration. IIC – International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, Volume 54, 7, pages 1535–1560.

[25] Pavis, M. (2023). Digital Heritage Leadership Briefing: Artificial Intelligence. The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

[26] Shabbir, K. (2022). Decolonising museums by exhibiting accountability: a changemakers’ concept. Museum Galleries Scotland.

[27] Murphy, O., et al. (2020). The Museums + AI Network – AI: A Museum Planning Toolkit. Pratt and Goldsmiths University of London.

[28] Risam, R. (2018). Decolonizing the Digital Humanities in Theory and Practice. In Sayers, J. (ed), The Routledge Companion to Media Studies and Digital Humanities, Routledge.

[29] Digital Catapult (2023). Five Createch Companies to Watch…

[30] House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee (2023). Connected tech: AI and creative technology.

[31] Department for Culture, Media and Sport (2023). Creative industries sector vision: a joint plan to drive growth, build talent and develop skills.

[32] Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre (2022). Understanding Createch R&D.

[33] Creative Industries Council (2022). CreaTech Headline Statistics.

[34] BBC and Ipsos (2024). Embedding the Audience: Putting audiences at the heart of Generative AI.

[35] Labour (2024). Creating Growth: Labour’s Plan for the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries.

[36] Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (2024). A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: government response.

[37] Synthetic Media Research Network (2024). Copyright & AI Training Data: Roundtable meeting of rights holders and AI developers.

[38] Intellectual Property Office (2024). Consultation on the options for implementing the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances.

Photo by: guruXOX via Adobe Stock