Elton John and Coldplay are among more than 400 artists urging the U.K.’s Prime Minister to take action in enforcing copyright laws related to artificial intelligence.

A letter signed by over 400 British musicians, writers, and artists, addressed to Keir Starmer, warns that without proper copyright protection, they would effectively be “giving away” their work to technology companies.

Dua Lipa, Paul McCartney, Florence Welch, Kate Bush and Robbie Williams have also signed the letter.

On Monday, May 12, the House of Lords voted on an amendment to a bill that would require AI developers to disclose which copyrighted materials they have used to train their models.

The letter reads: “Creative copyright is the lifeblood of the creative industries. It recognizes the moral authority we have over our work and provides an income stream for 2.4 million people across the four nations of the United Kingdom.”

“The fight to defend our creative industries has been joined by scores of UK businesses, including those who use and develop AI. We are not against progress or innovation. The creative industries have always been early adopters of technology. Indeed, many of the world’s greatest inventions, from the lightbulb to AI itself, have been a result of UK creative minds grappling with technology,” the letter adds.

Other signatories include author Kazuo Ishiguro, playwright David Hare, singer Robbie Williams, Tom Stoppard and Richard Curtis.

Source: RTT Music News