Equity pushes against AI misuse

The Equity performing arts and entertainment trade union is leading a campaign to protect performers and creative workers from the exploitation of artificial intelligence (AI), calling on the wider trade union movement to back stronger rights and regulation.

At its annual conference last month in Derry, members passed a motion urging the TUC to campaign for a range of safeguards. These include the introduction of personality rights to protect performers’ images and voices, enforcement of existing data protection laws, and opposition to government plans to weaken copyright through text and data mining exceptions.

Feyesa Wakjira who proposed the motion, said: “It is simple, it is clear. It is that creative contributions belong to the artist principally ... It must include informed consent, that we be fairly remunerated, and that abuse of trust must not be tolerated.”

The move is part of a wider push across the union movement to respond to AI’s growing influence at work. The TUC’s AI for creative workers manifesto calls for safeguards to ensure consent, credit and fair pay when artists’ work is used to train or power AI systems.

Equity general secretary Paul W Fleming has criticised the government’s light touch approach, urging a rights-based framework that involves workers directly in policymaking.

The move follows other unions who have already spoken out about the new technology.