A new Senate bill aims to make it easier for human creators to find out if their work was used without permission to train artificial intelligence, marking the latest effort to tackle the lack of transparency in generative AI development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Transparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks (TRAIN) Act would enable copyright holders to subpoena training records of generative AI models, if the holder can declare a \u201cgood faith belief\u201d that their work was used to train the model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The developers would only need to reveal the training material that is \u201csufficient to identify with certainty\u201d whether the copyright holder\u2019s works were used. Failing to comply would create a legal assumption \u2014 until proven otherwise \u2014 that the AI developer did indeed use the copyrighted work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who introduced the bill Thursday, said the country must \u201cset a higher standard for transparency\u201d as AI continues to integrate itself into Americans\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is simple: if your work is used to train A.I., there should be a way for you, the copyright holder, to determine that it\u2019s been used by a training model, and you should get compensated if it was,\u201d Welch said in a statement. \u201cWe need to give America\u2019s musicians, artists, and creators a tool to find out when A.I. companies are using their work to train models without artists\u2019 permission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The explosion of accessible generative AI technologies has triggered a slew of legal and ethical questions for artists, who fear these tools will enable others to recreate their work without consent, credit or compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though many major AI developers don\u2019t publicly reveal their models\u2019 training data, a viral Midjourney spreadsheet<\/a> gave credence to artists\u2019 concerns earlier this year when it listed thousands of people whose work was used to train its popular AI art generator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Companies that rely on human creative labor have tried to take on AI developers as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In recent years, news outlets like The New York Times<\/a> and The Wall Street Journal<\/a> sued AI companies such as OpenAI and Perplexity AI for copyright infringement. And the world\u2019s biggest record labels teamed up in June<\/a> to take two prominent AI music-making companies to court, alleging that they trained their models on decades\u2019 worth of copyrighted sound recordings without consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As legal tensions rise, more than 36,000 creative professionals \u2014 including Oscar-winning actor Julianne Moore, author James Patterson and Radiohead\u2019s Thom Yorke \u2014 have signed an open letter<\/a> urging the prohibition of using human art to train AI without permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No comprehensive federal legislation yet exists to regulate the development of AI, although several states have attempted to push through specific AI-related regulations, particularly around deepfakes<\/a>. In September, California passed into law<\/a> two bills aimed at protecting actors and other performers from unauthorized use of their digital likenesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similar bills have been introduced in Congress, including the bipartisan \u201cNO FAKES\u201d Act<\/a>, which would aim to protect human likenesses from nonconsensual digital replications, and the \u201cAI CONSENT\u201d Act<\/a>, which would require online platforms to get informed consent before using consumers\u2019 personal data to train AI. Neither has gotten a vote so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a news release, Welch said the TRAIN Act has been endorsed by several organizations \u2014 including\u2002<\/a>the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the American Federation of Musicians, and the Recording Academy \u2014 as well as major music labels \u2014 including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only a few weeks remain in this Congress, however, and members are focused on must-pass priorities like avoiding a government shutdown on Dec. 20. Welch\u2019s office said he plans to reintroduce the bill next year, as any unpassed legislation will need to be reintroduced in the new Congress when it convenes in early January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n