Yesterday in the House of Lords, parliamentarians, technologists, AI businesses and ABBA legend Björn Ulvaeus gathered for a roundtable discussion on creative rights in the age of AI. Chaired by Baroness Beeban Kidron, the group explored how Britain can forge a path to becoming a global AI leader, while safeguarding the country’s world-class creative sector.
Among those contributing to the discussion were Björn Ulvaeus, UKAI CEO Tim Flagg, Chi Onwurah MP, and Dame Caroline Dinenage MP – all centering around one question: how can AI flourish without compromising the rights and protections that all present agreed should be rightly afforded to artists?
‘Copyright is not a hurdle – it’s protection’
Speaking passionately on behalf of UKAI, Tim Flagg set out why copyright isn’t a barrier to growth – it’s a keystone upon which it is founded: “The AI sector depends on high quality, trusted content and creators.”
He continued: “Copyright is not a bureaucratic hurdle. It is how we protect creativity, innovation and economic value. It may not always sound glamorous, but intellectual property underpins the success of British innovators, including AI companies, helping them compete, helping them to grow and attract investment. Copyright drives economic growth.”
Tim also explained that regulatory guardrails will encourage innovation far more than it will stifle it – highlighting the need to avoid repeating the mistakes of recent years that have seen big tech dominate.
As the government begins to take steps to implement the AI Opportunities Action Plan – he laid out the situation at hand plainly: “The government faces a clear choice: do they protect the rights of UK creators and innovators, or give those rights away to a handful of global corporations?”
Creatives and AI: embracing progress with clear boundaries
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee emphasised that the UK’s creative industry are eager to work with the AI sector. As she put it, creatives are at the “forefront of technology – they are not Luddites as sometimes is portrayed.” In particular, she said, her committee’s report into film and high end TV found that those corners of the creative sector have “absolutely no desire to restrict AI technology” – noting the prevelance of AI aging and de-aging tools.
“Producers and creatives want to use AI responsibly. They’re looking for guidance and certainty, not loopholes or legal grey areas,” she said.
Dame Caroline also echoed Tim Flagg’s calls for regulatory guardrails as supports to growth and explained what those guardrails might look like in practice. She outlined her committee’s recomendation that a mandatory certification for ethical AI use be established to ensure that all stakeholders can be confident in the presence of accountability, certainty and protection when dealing with AI.
“We don’t need to rip up our copyright framework,” she added. “We need to strengthen and modernise it – not just for creators, but for the entire economy that depends on their work.”
Björn Ulvaeus: “AI is a tool – not a free pass”
ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, who is also President of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), brought an artist’s perspective to the table.
Ulvaeus cited his own experiences with using AI creatively to demonstrate how AI can open new creative avenues for artists: “I use AI almost daily when writing songs. It’s like an extension of my mind,” he said.
The ABBA legend argued that copyright must evolve to accommodate AI, rather than be weakened by it. He described AI as a tool to enhance artistry, rather than a threat to it. If a fair and equitable system is built to govern the relationships between AI, artists, and their work – this would empower creatives, he said.
He reiterated that regulation would not be an attempt to stifle or suffocate AI but to protect creators: “The truth is that creators are not afraid of AI. They are afraid of losing their rights and losing their income.”
A collaborative path forward
Chi Onwurah MP, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, stressed the importance of bridging the gap between tech and creative sectors.
Referencing joint hearings held with Dame Caroline’s committee, she said: “We often heard from creators, and we heard from tech – but rarely in the same room. Today, we’re fixing that.”
She called for innovation grounded in transparency, rights reservation, and fair licensing and emphasised the importance of shaping technology rather than letting it shape us. She spoke about her optimistic outlook on technology and AI: “Technology is not something that happens to us. It should not be something that shapes us. It is something that we can shape.”
A unified message to government
Baroness Beeban Kidron, who convened the roundtable, closed the discussion with a call to action, urging those present to support a letter she plans to send to the Prime Minister.
“I will, before it comes back to the Lords, be writing a letter to the Prime Minister,” she said. “And I’m asking every single person who has previously written to me, written to the government in private, whatever, to actually sign my letter.”
She stressed the scale and urgency of the issue, underscoring the importance of collective support from across the creative and technology sectors: “I think that the Prime Minister himself needs to understand that this is thousands and thousands of jobs, thousands and thousands of people for whom this is an existential issue.”
Final thought
Yesterday’s roundtable was a demonstration of one of Britain’s best advantages when it comes to AI – our indigenous AI industry excels in its willingness and enthusiasm to dialogue with stakeholders that have concerns about how AI could impact them. It’s this that means Britain is best positioned to take advantage of the AI boom.
From lawmakers to legendary artists, there was clear consensus that the creative and technology sectors are not at odds – they are interdependent. By continuing to discuss key issues, it will be possible to ensure that AI innovation is grounded in fairness, transparency and respect for all – especially creators who underpin the UK’s global cultural standing.
Featured image via Carl Court/Getty Images
