AI companies overseas have committed what in Microsoft’s own words represents ‘the largest theft of labor in human history.’ By the AI companies’ own admission, this practice is unsustainable, poses an ‘existential threat’ to publishing, and ‘threatens the economic stability of those who create the content.’

Not only is Big Tech reaping the benefits of Australian authors’ and illustrators’ creative labour without permission or payment, but the generative AI models they have developed are being used to displace creators’ work and dilute their market. We are already seeing the harmful impacts upon professional author careers: 

• A flood of AI-generated books are being uploaded to online retailers – 45% of submitted publications were rejected from Kobo on this basis. AI-generated knock-offs are being sold on Amazon.
• AI-generated knock-offs are being sold on Amazon.
• Traffic to news and other websites, where authors might build a platform or profile, are significantly dropping since chatbots were launched.
• Creators are losing commissions or supplementary sources of income like copywriting or graphic design jobs, which are also crucial professional skills-building opportunities. A recent UK report showed 86% of authors reported a drop in income due to generative AI.

The government is not powerless to address this. 

Instead of seeking permission to license our work, tech companies are lobbying Canberra for changes to copyright. We do not need to upend copyright law to make it easier for these companies to continue their extractive practices onshore. We simply need to reinforce and enforce our existing law. 

We urge all authors and illustrators to contact your local MPs about this issue. What we have learned was done to Medicare by OpenAI has been – and continues to be – done to Australia’s writers and illustrators. Tech companies have demonstrated a flagrant disregard for our rights, and the creative work they need to build their tools. In testimony given in May 2020, OpenAI policy director, Jack Clark stated, ‘there will be a point where a bunch of artists express worry about what we’re doing here and we’ll likely ignore their concerns and release anyway.’ The tech companies have told us what they really think. Now it’s time for us to tell the government what we think.

Download our template letter to write to your local MP about your views on AI now.