Former Meta Executive Declares Asking Artists for Permission to Train AI Would 'Kill' the Industry Almost Immediately

Meta's former president of global affairs has stated that having to ask artists for permission to use their content to train AI is "implausible" and would be detrimental to the industry.

Nick Clegg, who worked with Meta for almost seven years, was asked about his opinions regarding copyright laws and artificial intelligence while speaking to members of parliament on Thursday.

"I think the creative community wants to go a step further," Clegg said, according to The Times. "Quite a lot of voices say, 'You can only train on my content, [if you] first ask'. And I have to say that strikes me as somewhat implausible because these systems train on vast amounts of data."

"I just don't know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don't see how that would work," Clegg said. "And by the way if you did it in Britain and no one else did it, you would basically kill the AI industry in this country overnight."

Clegg made these statements after discussion pertaining to a potential amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill. If passed, the amendment would mandate that technology companies disclose the copyrighted works they used to train their AI.

Earlier this month, hundreds of creatives, including Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, Ian McKellen, Elton John and more, signed an open letter supporting the amendment to the Data Bill and urging the government to ensure that AI companies credit the copyrighted work they use.

"We will lose an immense growth opportunity if we give our work away at the behest of a handful of powerful overseas tech companies, and with it our future income, the UK's position as a creative powerhouse, and any hope that the technology of daily life will embody the values and laws of the United Kingdom," the letter read, according to The Guardian.

"I think people should have clear, easy to use ways of saying, no, I don't. I want out of this. But I think expecting the industry, technologically or otherwise, to preemptively ask before they even start training — I just don't see. I'm afraid that just collides with the physics of the technology itself," said Clegg.