NAVA seeks feedback on the use and impact of AI on artists’ practices

Earlier this month the Attorney-General's Department hosted a roundtable with key industry stakeholders to discuss several proposed changes to copyright and Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation.

At the meeting, NAVA and other arts and humanities interest groups discussed the issues and benefits of:

• a limited liability scheme for the use of orphan works (where the copyright owner cannot be found)
• use of copyright material in remote learning environments
• quotation from copyright material

A high-level summary of the outcomes is now available on the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department website. 

The following Department roundtable will take place later this year and focus on the definition of "broadcast" for the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) and AI. Two Government Enquiries are also open to the public, Enhancing Australian design protection (closes 8 August) and Supporting responsible AI (closes 26 July).  

NAVA is conducting a survey in partnership with the Arts Law Centre of Australia and the Australian Society of Authors. It asks artists and creators how AI impacts or feeds into their work and what regulation should be considered around AI platform development and output.

Your responses will help inform NAVA’s contribution to the next Attorney-General's Department roundtable and government inquiries. Please fill out the survey by Monday 17 July to have your say.

While AI does present several challenges in the copyright space, it has also created new opportunities in creative work that would not have been possible otherwise. 

NAVA stands with Australian creators, artists, creative industry bodies and rights holders who support a robust copyright framework and seek to mitigate any potential infringement or negative impacts of AI practices on our sector.

Our focus through all consultations with the Government is not only on protecting artists’ work but ensuring future copyright changes do not undermine the potential for artists to receive or generate payment for their work.

Image: Jazz Money & Joel Sherwood Spring, Wiradjuri AI. Lessons in how (not) to be heard (still), 2020. Single channel video. 

ID: Video still featuring a photo of a Waratah. Overlaid centre right is a photo of two people in conversation and a black rectangle on the top left with white block text that reads: We need more sisters if we're to save it. The image is covered in automated analysis produced by AI.