Over 1,000 musicians release silent album to protest AI copyright changes

What just happened? More than 1,000 musicians, including Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and the Eurythmics' Annie Lennox, have released a silent album in protest against proposed changes to Britain's copyright laws. The new rules could allow companies to use artists' work to train their AI models without permission. The album, called Is This What We Want?, features recordings of empty studios and performance spaces. Organizers say this represents the potential impact on artists' livelihoods, and creativity in general, should the government's plans go ahead. The UK has put forward proposals that will allow AI companies to train their models on any material to which they have lawful access. Any creators or companies that don't want their work used this way would have to opt out, an option that has been called unfair and unworkable. Ed Newton-Rex, the British composer and former AI executive behind the album, said, "The government's proposal would hand the life's work of the country's musicians ... Read full article.