Platforms like YouTube are having difficulty with AI video and music.
AI video and music With Youtube – AI allows you to perform an increasing number of things, even getting caught up in a copyright law scandal. Let’s explore the implications for creatives and brands of the new legal precedents being established about AI and copyright.
It’s simpler than ever to utilize AI to produce anything, including videos, famous voices, and photos. And that has put YouTube and other such websites in a tricky predicament. Platforms are developing their standards for the use of AI because there isn’t much in the way of legal precedent, which has ramifications for brands and creators.
YouTube is owned by Google, which is now debating how to manage videos that mimic well-known singers’ voices using artificial intelligence. According to The Verge, the problem started when a musician by the name of Ghostwriter977 made the song “Heart on My Sleeve” utilizing AI-generated renditions of Drake and The Weeknd.
Both performers are represented by Universal Music Group, which was upset that their voices were being utilized in this manner. They put pressure on Apple and Spotify to take down the track, but it was more difficult at YouTube. Usually, YouTube only takes down content when there is a blatant copyright violation. All of the music, music videos, and lyrics have obvious copyright notices. Though voices? They are not protected by copyright. They never had a justification for existing.
up to now, possibly.
YouTube was in a difficult situation because there was no obvious legal course to take. The platform depends on cordial ties with music labels, but how cordial can they become?
The track was ultimately taken down because it contained a copyrighted sample, but YouTube still had to abide by the label’s requests. In light of this, YouTube and the Universal Music Group announced a partnership to “develop an AI framework to help us work toward our common goals.”
This indicates that YouTube will begin collaborating with music labels to establish their policies. Google, which owns YouTube, is still freely mining the internet to train its own AI systems in the meanwhile.
What brought us here, then?
What are the benefits of copyright in creative AI?
Over the past year, generative AI has attracted enormous interest, and with that interest has come copyright worries.
Who owns the finished product, for instance, if an AI picture generator was trained using works of art protected by copyright? This started to become popular in December 2022 with the usage of Lensa AI, an app that allows users to upload images of themselves and receive artwork created by AI. Although it was fun to test out, artists whose work was used to train the AI expressed ethical issues. Should they be compensated in any way? The entire app was it just art theft?
It becomes more stickier when AI video and music are included.
AI can be used to produce computer-generated versions of performers or singers by learning their likenesses. To produce “deepfakes” of the voices of performers like Frank Sinatra, Katy Perry, and Elvis, OpenAI’s Jukebox project was employed.
For instance, listen to “Sinatra” singing Britney Spears’ Toxic.
Once more, voices are not protected by copyright laws, however, music used to train AI programs is.
This also comes up in the publishing industry, outside of music. There are worries that AI will be utilized to create fresh content without the author’s involvement by learning the distinctive voice and style of writers. In publishing contracts, AI clauses have been reported to seek for permission to use authors’ works as training data. Although there isn’t any evidence (yet) that major publishing houses are employing AI to mimic authors, Jane Friedman, an author, discovered books bearing her name but written by someone else were being sold on Amazon. She thinks the article was written with AI.
Copyrighted resources are being utilized to create new content in each of these instances; the question is who is the owner of this new content and who is entitled to whatever revenue it generates.
Artists are retaliating.
- Artists are uniting to demand fair and equitable usage of their works and likenesses in the absence of a legal framework.
- AI has also been a significant source of contention during the present SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood. A proposal by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on the usage of AI is one of the issues striking members are negotiating about.
The AMPTP seeks to permit studios to utilize an actor’s digital likeness. SAG-AFTRA fears that studios might pay an actor for a single day’s work, scan their likeness, and then utilize that likeness indefinitely without having to pay the actor any compensation.
“Artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to creative professions,” said Fran Drescher, head of SAG-AFTRA, “and all actors and performers deserve contract language that protects them from having their identity and talent exploited without their consent and payment.”
Awaiting the enforcement of the law
Despite considerable progress, the US legal system has been reluctant to keep up with the rapid advancement of AI.
A DC District Court judge declared that AI-generated artwork cannot be protected by copyrights in August 2023. The case resulted from a lawsuit filed by Stephen Thaler, who used an algorithm he had developed to create an AI-generated image. The US Copyright Office consistently denied his attempts to copyright the image.
In his ruling, the judge stated that copyright would never be granted for a piece of art that was “absent any guiding human hand.” Additionally, he stated that “person authorship is a fundamental prerequisite of copyright.
This brings up Google once more. Voices are not protected by copyright, although that decision was made before AI-generated voices became common. It’s still feasible that when generative AI gains hold, copyright laws will change.
Google must make its own decisions regarding what content can be uploaded on YouTube in the interim. The platform said in a blog post that it was handling the issue by keeping in mind three principles:
- We will appropriately embrace AI together with our musical collaborators now that it is here.
- AI is ushering in a new era of creative expression, but it needs to provide the necessary safeguards and open doors for music partners who choose to take part.
- We have established content policies and a trust and safety organization that leads the industry. To meet the difficulties posed by AI, we will scale those.
- Additionally, they stated that they are still formulating these new policies and how they would affect revenue. The music business, which has a financial interest in making money from the musicians they represent, will undoubtedly be consulted as Google develops these policies, it is evident.
How brands and creators may safeguard themselves
Where does it leave the creators and brands, then?
As we’ve seen with novelists and actors, it’s crucial for those who produce original material to collaborate with other creatives. The moment has come to establish precedents for the future usage of AI.
You should be aware that you are stepping into contentious terrain if you are a creator who employs AI-generated content in your work. Do not presume that any work created with generative AI is your intellectual property. And while you might be free to upload an AI-generated voice to YouTube right now, a music company might take away the income in the future. DMCA strikes are serious business on video sites, and you don’t want to run afoul of the rules.
It’s a similar story for brands. Work under the premise that the laws are subject to modification at any time. It’s crucial to consider ethical issues as well. Is using AI-generated material worth damaging relationships with creatives?
It’s crucial to look into the material usage of the AI tool you’re using. There are no copyright issues with Kapwing’s AI video generator, for instance, because it only employs royalty-free photos. As another example, our AI script generator employs LLM to produce text, but it is not trained to imitate the voice of any one artist.
Utilize AI morally
Although generative AI has some intriguing legal questions, this does not mean you should be wary of AI in general.
Whether you realize it or not, you already use artificial intelligence (AI) frequently on social media, or you may be doing it proactively with the aid of apps like ChatGPT. Artificial intelligence (AI) may be extremely powerful for creatives, such as with automating monotonous jobs or brainstorming your next big idea. However, AI can also present hazards, such as AI hallucinations and the propagation of false information.
Use AI morally
Although there are some fascinating legal concerns with generative AI, this does not mean you should be wary about AI in general.
Whether you realize it or not, you already use AI on social media frequently, and you may even be actively employing AI with the aid of tools like ChatGPT. While there are risks associated with AI, such as AI hallucinations and the propagation of false information, it can also be very powerful for creatives, such as when it comes to automating monotonous work or brainstorming your next big idea.
Both technology and art are fundamentally changing as a result of AI.
Its continued existence and the success of several artists will be assured. It’s crucial to stay informed about both judicial decisions and how platforms are adopting AI into their rules.
It’s a similar story for brands. Work under the premise that the laws are subject to modification at any time. It’s crucial to consider ethical issues as well. Is using AI-generated material worth damaging relationships with creatives?
It’s crucial to look into the material usage of the AI tool you’re using. There are no copyright issues with Kapwing’s AI video generator, for instance, because it only employs royalty-free photos. As another example, our AI script generator employs LLM to produce text, but it is not trained to imitate the voice of any one artist.
Utilize AI morally
Although generative AI has some intriguing legal questions, this does not mean you should be wary of AI in general.
Whether you realize it or not, you already use artificial intelligence (AI) frequently on social media, or you may be doing it proactively with the aid of apps like ChatGPT. Artificial intelligence (AI) may be extremely powerful for creatives, such as with automating monotonous jobs or brainstorming your next big idea. However, AI can also present hazards, such as AI hallucinations and the propagation of false information.
Both technology and art are fundamentally changing as a result of AI.
Its continued existence and the success of several artists will be assured. It’s crucial to stay informed about both judicial decisions and how platforms are adopting AI into their rules.