What you need to know
- Over 200 UK-based artists recently signed an open international letter to help protect them from the predatory misuse of AI to steal their work.
- UK lawmakers drafted a new report echoing similar sentiments and want to implement a new law protecting artists from AI deepfakes, misappropriation, and false endorsement.
- Famous British singer FKA Twigs revealed she used AI to generate a deepfake of herself designed to interact with her fans and journalists while she works on her music.
It's pretty amazing what one can achieve by leveraging AI capabilities, from generating sophisticated structural designs to almost rendering architecture jobs obsolete to 'reincarnating' a deceased rapper to feature in a track.
While the technology is pretty impressive, it has sparked a controversial debate across social media platforms over its privacy and security. Microsoft's Copilot and OpenAI's supercharged ChatGPT offerings continue to improve with new features and updates. Rumors hitting the windmill indicating GPT-5 will be "really good, like materially better."
The lack of regulation and guardrails to prevent the technology from spiraling out of control recently prompted over 200 music stars to sign an open international letter to protect themselves against "the predatory use of AI to steal artists' voices and likenesses." This move was complemented by UK MPs who echoed similar sentiments in a report that recommended the introduction of a new law for protecting artists from AI deepfakes, misappropriation, and false endorsement in the UK (via BBC).
The UK-based lawmakers also indicated that AI can dent artists' careers, citing the need for measures to prevent this from happening. While all the major concerns about the technology were tabled, the cross-party group's chair, Labour MP Kevin Brennan, indicated that AI could also be used for good, for instance, boosting creativity and promoting innovation.
AI deepfakes can be helpful only if you hold all the power
While speaking to the US Senate Judiciary subcommittee, famous British singer FKA Twigs revealed she uses AI to generate a deepfake of herself (AI twigs). She indicated that she mainly uses it to interact with her broad fan base and journalists, giving her more time to focus on her craft.
However, she reiterated the importance of regulation on AI, which would help prevent the misuse of an artist's voice and appearance for malicious intent. She indicated her AI-generated deepfake has been trained to mimic her personality and even use her voice while speaking in French, Korean, and Japanese.
According to FKA Twigs:
"These and similar technologies are highly valuable tools. This, however, is all under my control and I can grant or refuse consent in a way that is meaningful. What is not acceptable is when my art and my identity can simply be taken by a third party and exploited falsely for their own gain without my consent due to the absence of appropriate legislative control."
Twigs said that she intends to launch her AI clone later this year. She plans to use this creation to extend her social media reach and handle her interactions across social media platforms.
