AOI responds to Copyright and AI consultation to protect illustrators
AOI responded to the UK Government’s consultation on ‘Copyright and Artificial Intelligence’.
The UK Government’s proposal:
The consultation proposed an exception to copyright that would allow commercial use of text and data mining – the ‘scraping’ of your work from the internet to train generative AI by AI developers – for no payment.
There were four options in the consultation, but the Government declared their preference for option 3, which includes a ‘rights reservation’ (better known as an ‘opt out’) to creatives whose work could be scraped, which would – in theory – prevent developers from using your artwork for AI training.
However, there has been no proposal for how a technical opt out solution would work, and even the EU have yet to produce one after adopting an opt out position several years ago.
Our response:
AOI submitted a response on behalf of members and the illustration community, including crucial data and respondent quotes from our recent AI survey, advocating that:
• Our choice of Option 1 provides clear creator control, encourages fair compensation, and maintains existing successful licensing frameworks.
• The addition of mandatory transparency measures on AI developers, including disclosure of their complete training datasets, sources, and specific artworks used.
• Retrospective compensation for past infringements of scraped artworks in existing datasets used to train generative AI.
Read the full Copyright and Artificial Intelligence consultation submission
We emphasised that Illustrators have consistently embraced technological advancements and are not resistant to change.
However, generative AI platforms are directly competing with illustrators by using their original works without permission or compensation to produce synthetic images which may compete with them. Our survey reveals that 32.40% of illustrators have already lost commissions to AI alternatives.
Although the AI developers are claiming otherwise, the current legal framework in the UK is unambiguous: consent must be obtained from creators before copyrighted work is used to train generative AI, typically through licensing arrangements. We strongly oppose the proposed opt-out (rights reservation) system with default opt-in provisions.
This system would require illustrators to opt out every image online, and place an impossible burden on them as they must maintain an online presence to secure work. Our survey demonstrates overwhelming opposition to this approach, with 91.62% of illustrators supporting Option 1 and 92.65% finding individual opt-outs unfeasible.
The AOI maintains that proper licensing creates the stable foundation needed for ethical generative AI advancement.
The enforcement of copyright protection in AI development demands robust and decisive measures to effectively safeguard creators’ rights. The current challenges facing individual illustrators in pursuing legal recourse are prohibitive, with costly proceedings, and the practical impossibility of tracking violations across international jurisdictions.
We noted the consultation fails to address the past illegal use of creative works by AI developers, and that 99.05% of our survey respondents demand retrospective compensation for past scraping, and 98.68% call for full dataset transparency. The government’s vision for AI to benefit everyone cannot be realised while undermining the creative industries that contribute so substantially to British culture and economy.
We pointed out the environmental concerns about AI servers’ substantial energy consumption during a global energy crisis add another layer of urgency to this issue.
Emphasis was placed on the AOI opposition to the government’s preferred Option 3. This opposition is based on comprehensive evidence showing that Option 3 fails all three of the Government’s stated objectives: control, access, and transparency.
Our national survey demonstrates clear consensus from illustrators:
• 96.41% of illustrators oppose Option 3.
• 92.65% say in individual opt-outs would have a detrimental impact on their businesses.
Thank you:
Our submission was boosted by the contributions of thousands of illustrators who completed our AI survey in January. Thank you for your support.
For more, see our Artificial Intelligence updates page
February 2025
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