Billie Eilish, R.E.M., Kacey Musgraves, More Sign Open Letter Warning of AI’s Infringement on Artists’ Rights

The Artist Rights Alliance (ARA) has issued an open letter condemning the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of artists. The signatories, who span more than 200 artists, include Billie Eilish, R.E.M., Kacey Musgraves, Elvis Costello, Nicki Minaj, Jason Isbell, Mac DeMarco, Aimee Mann, Jadakiss, Sheryl Crow, Chappell Roan, Jon Bon Jovi, and more. The artist-run nonprofit organization asks that developers, technology companies, and platforms and digital music services “pledge that they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content, or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”

The organization underlines the use of musical works by tech developers to train and produce AI models without permission from the artist and the use of “AI-created ‘sounds’ and ‘images’ that substantially dilute the royalty pools that are paid out to artists,” as written in the letter. “For many working musicians, artists and songwriters who are just trying to make ends meet, this would be catastrophic.”

“This assault on human creativity must be stopped,“ the letter continues. “We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.” Read the note in full here.

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