Westminster’s work on AI copyright ‘inadequate and deteriorating’, Lords committee finds

The House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee has said the UK Government’s work on AI copyright is “concerning”, accusing it of “avoiding taking sides in a contentious topic”.

In a letter to UK technology secretary Michelle Donelan, committee chair Baroness Stowell of Beeston criticised the UK Government’s response to the committee’s report on large language models (LLM) and generative AI. 

The letter called for a more balanced commitment towards pressing issues concerning responsible AI, criticising the government for being too focused on AI safety. 

It called for more clarity on the legal approach regarding copyright and LLMs. 

The letter said that despite the government claiming in its response that it could not comment on the matter as it could “prejudice the outcome” of ongoing legal cases, this contention was “misguided and unconvincing”.

The baroness claimed no evidence suggested that addressing legal uncertainty would breach sub judice conventions and claimed the government's lack of “meaningful” action was a “de facto” backing of tech firms’ practices.

The letter continued: “That reflects poorly on this government’s commitment to British businesses, fair play and the equal application of the law.”

She added that she was also “disappointed” by the government’s failure to enhance governance measures to tackle regulatory capture.

The letter finally asked for additional “clarification” on funding allocations for university AI research after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for further measures to prevent universities’ reliance on foreign funding turning into a tool for coercion.