Music artists protest over AI with release of silent album

Over 1000 music artists have put their names to a new album that consists wholly of complete silence.

The new album, called Is This What We Want?  was released to protest against potential changes that may be made to UK law to allow AI companies to train their models on copyrighted works.

Understandably, this hasn't just caused consternation amongst music artists, given that the results of AI generations come as a direct result of effectively 'remixing' subject matter that the AI has been trained on. Although music artists will be one of the biggest groups affected.

The new album features contributions from 1000 artists, including Kate Bush, Cat Stevens, and Annie Lennox, and comprises recordings of empty studio spaces. 12 tracks are on the album, with the individual titles spelling out the phrase "The British government must not legalise music theft to benefit AI companies."

While the potential new legislation will be brought into British law, it would have ramifications across the world. The British government may well see this as a way to draw in AI companies to invest in the UK, but it is a cynical move to say the least. It would mean that any AI could be trained within the UK, and then the resultant model rolled out to the rest of the world, unless counter legislation is made in other countries to outlaw the use of AIs that have been trained in such a way.

Dubious training practices

Now, we already know that the way in which existing AIs have been trained have been perhaps a little dubious in their regard for copyrighted works. But, this new potential legislation will make such practices openly legal.

Ironically, the organiser of the album, Ed Newton-Rex, is an AI developer himself, although one who places ethical practices at the top of his priorities. Newton-Rex is a composer too, and understands fully the implications of AI, having developed Jukedeck, an AI music creator. He has also been the VP of Audio at Stability AI, but resigned over disagreements regarding the use of copyrighted works for training artificial intelligence systems.

As a result of this, last year, he launched a non-profit organisation called Fairly Trained, which certifies AI companies for training data practices that respect creators’ rights.

Paul McCartney told the BBC in response to news of the new legislation, “You get young guys and girls coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don’t own it. They don’t have anything to do with it, and anyone who wants can just rip it off.

“The truth is, the money’s going somewhere. When it gets on the streaming platforms, somebody’s getting the money, and it should be the person who created it. It shouldn’t just be some tech giant somewhere. Somebody’s getting paid. Why shouldn’t it be the guy who sat down and wrote Yesterday?”

AI is an area that holds a lot of promise, although some would argue it's a bubble waiting to burst. Regardless, it remains controversial, with governments around the world struggling to deal with the pace of development and the legal and moral ramifications. The release of an album such as Is This What We Want might appear gimmicky, but it all serves to bring attention to a new world of computer technology that is still finding its legal feet.

tl;dr

• Over 1000 music artists released an album titled *Is This What We Want?*, consisting of complete silence, to protest UK legislation allowing AI companies to train on copyrighted works.
• The album features 12 tracks recorded in empty studio spaces, with titles collectively conveying the message against legalizing music theft to benefit AI companies.
• Ed Newton-Rex, the album's organizer and an AI developer, emphasizes ethical practices in AI training and has launched a non-profit organization, Fairly Trained, to promote respectful training data practices.
• Paul McCartney highlights the financial inequities in the music industry, advocating for fair compensation for creators rather than tech companies profiting from their work amid the rise of AI technologies.