Media organisations urge government to 'hold the line' over AI
Eighteen of Australia's top creative and media organisations are urging the federal government to "hold the line" on copyright protections that artificial intelligence (AI) companies would like to see changed. Organisations including the ABC, News Corp, Nine, SBS, Foxtel and major music industry bodies issued a statement today saying they were deeply concerned about the government's negotiations with AI companies. "When Australia rejected the text and data mining exception last October, it sent a clear signal: Australia will not prioritise AI companies at the expense of its creative and culture sector," it said. The statement was issued in response to reporting this week about the Department of Industry's briefing for Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton ahead of his February meeting with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. The briefing prepared him to discuss any issues Anthropic might have with Australia's copyright regime as the government attempts to woo the AI company to make "major investments" in Australia. In October, the federal government rejected a proposal from groups like the Tech Council of Australia and the Productivity Commission to make a carve-out that would let tech companies train their AI models on copyrighted material without payment. Attorney-General Michelle Rowland says the government has not changed its position on copyright and AI. "The Albanese government is committed to supporting Australia's creative sector and has been clear for some time that there are no plans to weaken copyright protections when it comes to AI," she said in a statement to the ABC.