Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, and More Sign Statement Opposing Government's AI Proposal

The Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, and more are among the 35 arts leaders and theatre companies to sign a statement on behalf of UK Performing Arts CEOs regarding copyright and artificial intelligence. They are the latest to speak out about the use of AI in the arts, following Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

As BroadwayWorld reported, a proposal was made by the UK government to change laws that will strip creators of copyright protection amidst the use of AI. The change to this law would reportedly allow AI companies to use creators' works as training data for their models without consent or payment. 

Read the full statement below:

“We join with many in the creative community in expressing our concern about the government’s plans to diminish creative copyright by giving an exemption to AI companies. Our community of highly skilled creative workers depend on a fragile ecosystem of freelance creatives, many of whom rely on copyright to sustain their practice, and most of whom have spent many decades honing their craft.

“As leaders of creative institutions, we embrace advances in technology. We are not separate from innovation but rather participants in its practical applications and the philosophical and moral questions it raises.  We are concerned that the government proposals risk undermining agency and participation in the new world of AI rather than supporting the moral and economic rights of our creative community to their work.  As such we ask the government to underline a creative person’s automatic right to their work and ask that the government support transparency duties on AI companies.

“The sheer wonderment of world class music, drama, dance and opera is essential to the joy of being human. We urge the government to support the human creative endeavour at its heart.”

Signatories:

Birmingham Rep – Rachael Thomas

Birmingham Royal Ballet – Paul James

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra – Dougie Scarfe

Bristol Beacon – Simon Wales

Bristol Old Vic – Charlotte Geeves

Britten Pears Arts – Andrew Comben

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – Emma Stenning

Donmar Warehouse – Henny Finch

English National Ballet - Anu Giri

English National Opera – Jenny Mollica

ICA - Bengi Unsal 

Garsington Opera – Nicky Creed

Glyndebourne – Richard Davidson-Houston

London Philharmonic Orchestra – David Burke

Leeds Playhouse – Shawab Iqbal

London Symphony Orchestra – Kathryn McDowell

National Theatre – Kate Varah

Northern Ballet – David Collins

Talawa Theatre Company – Carolyn ML Forsyth and Michael Buffong

The Old Vic – Laura Stevenson

Theatre Royal Plymouth – James Mackenzie-Blackman

Opera North – Laura Canning

Rambert – Helen Shute

Roundhouse – Marcus Davey

Royal Albert Hall – James Ainscough

Royal Ballet and Opera – Alex Beard

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic – Michael Eakin

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Sarah Bardwell

Royal Shakespeare Company – Daniel Evans, Tamara Harvey, Andrew Leveson

Sadlers Wells – Sir Alistair Spalding

St George’s Bristol – Samir Savant

Southbank Centre – Elaine Bedell

Tiata Fahodzi - Chinonyerem Odimba

Warwick Arts Centre – Doreen Foster

Young Vic – Lucy Pattison

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