Speakers at the May 20 Brussels meeting of the ‘Stay True to the Act, Stay True to Culture’ campaign. Planeta’s Jesús Badenes del Río is seated on the far right. Image: STTTA
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Badenes: ‘The Wealth of the Nations’
As we reported on May 14, the Creators for Europe United program in Germany has announced that more than 10,000 signatories have joined that effort’s demands to the European Commission for the protection of copyrighted work from use by large language models for training without rights holders’ knowledge, permission, licensing or other remuneration.“We encourage both European legislators and the European Commission to act strategically regarding one of the real backbones of prosperity and democracy.”Jesús Badenes, Planeta
Tuesday evening (May 20) in Brussels, key members of the European creative community engaged in an event with EU policymakers, raising a growing concern that the much-heralded EU Artificial Intelligence Act–given its final endorsement a year ago today—may not get the implementation it needs. A major emphasis for this campaign is to “achieve meaningful involvement of the creative sector in shaping standards that will govern how AI is developed and used, particularly where it affects creative content.”
Stay True to the Act, Stay True to Culture is the title of the program in this case, and the event in Brussels was hosted by members of parliament Brando Benifei and Michael McNamara—one key figure on-hand being Björn Ulvaeus, a co-founder of ABBA and president of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC).
The Barcelona-based Planeta Group books division CEO Jesús Badenes del Río, well known to many of our Publishing Perspectives readers, told the gathering that “Full enforcement of copyright legal framework and development of AI models should not be seen as conflicting objectives.
“Respect for creativity requires strong and full transparency requirements about all works used for generative AI models. We should not forget that our society does not get best creative contents only from the benevolence of authors, but also from their regard to their own interest, as Adam Smith established in 1776 in his seminal work The Wealth of Nations.
“We encourage both European legislators and the European Commission to act strategically regarding one of the real backbones of prosperity and democracy.”
Another publisher speaking—as we learn today in information from the Syndicat national de l’édition (SNE) in Paris—was Actes-Sud’s president Anne-Sylvie Bameule, who said, “Fake AI transparency as currently proposed by the European Commission will enable AI companies to keep stealing millions of books with full impunity.
“The book market is already flooded with fake books that not only threaten the biggest European cultural sector but can also endanger consumers.
“The European legislature clearly said ‘no more’, it’s time for the commission to do what the law says.”
Actes-Sud president Anne-Sylvie Bameule and ABBA co-founder Björn Ulvaeus at the Brussels ‘Stay True to the Act, Stay True to Culture’ campaign. Image: STTTA
Many in the music business—as part of the growing coalition to protect copyright—have spoken out, and in the Brussels event Tuesday, Ulvaeus said, “We must never be seduced by the false idea that in the headlong rush to the new AI world creators’ interests must be cast aside.
“That approach won’t work—not for the creative sector, not for the economy, or for culture, or even for the tech sector whose vast AI revenues, let’s not forget, derive from copyrighted creative works.”
The AI Act, as it’s known, entered into force in August 2024. Its requirements roll out over time before becoming fully implemented. The purpose of the incremental arrival of its provisions is to let stakeholders make adjustments and prepare.
Christian van Thillo, executive chair of the Belgian group DPG Media, told the assembly in Brussels, “Big Tech built empires by ignoring copyright and privacy rules, and today they’re doing the same with AI. Without compliance with the AI Act and rigorous enforcement, European culture and democracy will pay the price.”
Organizers of the program have stressed that “transparency, consent, and remuneration must be at the heart of AI implementation. AI and creativity can thrive together—if the rules respect the people whose work powers these technologies.”
More from Publishing Perspectives on artificial intelligence is here, more on the European Union is here, more on the Federation of European Publishers is here, and more on the publishing markets and their issues in Europe is here. Our thanks to the Federation of European Publishers for assistance on this article.