Artistas britânicos de topo alertam para ameaça da IA enquanto Starmer recebe Trump

O cenário cultural britânico enfrenta uma disrupção digital sem precedentes. Artistas consagrados soam o alarme sobre a capacidade da inteligência artificial de replicar—e potencialmente substituir—criatividade humana.

Enquanto isso, o primeiro-ministro Starmer estende pontes diplomáticas ao receber o ex-presidente Trump em Londres, num movimento que especialistas consideram arriscado para a estabilidade geopolítica.

A indústria criativa teme que algoritmos possam gerar hits musicais sem royalties—um pesadelo para artistas, mas um sonho para investidores que buscam cortar custos operacionais. A tecnologia avança mais rápido que a regulação, deixando criadores vulneráveis à apropriação digital de suas identidades artísticas.

Enquanto políticos negociam alianças, artistas lutam pela sobrevivência cultural—e a IA não espera por ninguém.

UK artists say AI is stealing a lifetime worth of work

Government plans to permit AI developers to train systems on books, lyrics, scripts, and music without prior information were condemned by artists. Elton John said such a policy leaves the door wide open for an artist’s life’s work to be stolen.

“We will not accept this,” he added. “And we will not let the government forget their election promises to support our creative industries.”

The letter, backed by organizations including the News Media Association, the Society of London Theatre and Mumsnet, insisted that copyright law is being “flouted en masse” by global technology firms.

In the letter, ministers were accused of deliberately obstructing amendments to the recent data bill that seeks to mandate AI firms to disclose the copyrighted works used in training their models.

The artists on top of the simple copyright complaints, framed the dispute as a human rights matter. They argued that removing transparency provisions “actively stood in the way” of creators exercising their rights under international conventions, including the UN’s covenant on cultural rights, the Berne Convention, and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The letter points to a provision in the ECHR stating that “no one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest”, adding that removing the amendments breached UK citizens’ rights, under the ICESCR, to “the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is author.”

Starmer and Labour are in an uneasy position

Since taking office, Labour has found itself at odds with Britain’s cultural sector, which employs more than two million people and generates billions in revenue. Elton John has previously dubbed the current administration “absolute losers,” according to a Cryptopolitan earlier report.

Starmer’s administration launched a consultation on copyright reform that initially favored giving AI firms wide access to copyrighted content, unless creators formally opted out.

It was only after an uproar that the position was revised with ministers now going back to working groups formed of both the creative industries and the tech sector in order to reach a compromised consensus. However, campaigners say those panels are stacked with American interests.

According to Lady Beeban Kidron, who spearheaded amendments to the data bill, the government gave in to pressure from Silicon Valley.

“The working groups are packed with US interests – OpenAI, Meta, and others. And recent deals with Google and OpenAI show where the government’s priorities lie,” she said.

Kidron warned that Labour was “knowingly undermining the foundations of the UK’s creative industries” by prioritizing trade agreements and data center investments over copyright protections.

Now, the timing of the artists’ intervention is no accident. Officials in London and Washington are expected to announce a new UK-US pact covering AI and digital trade this week as Donald Trump is accompanied by tech executives on his upcoming state visit.

Downing Street has sought to calm tensions. A government spokesperson said the concerns of musicians, writers and publishers were being taken “seriously”, promising a report on the impact of potential changes by next March.

Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.