This week the government introduced an AI Action Plan – an extensive set of over 40 recommendations to help the UK become an “AI Superpower” by 2023.
The plan presents a bold vision for the future, with significant implications for the film and TV production industry. While it offers exciting opportunities for innovation and growth, it also raises important questions about copyright, creative control, and the future of human creativity in an AI-powered world.
Peter Kyle, Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, notes: “We’re committed to making the UK a world leader in AI while protecting the vibrant creativity that makes our film and TV industry so special. This is just the beginning of a dialogue that will shape the future of content creation in Britain.”
However, despite these bold statements, the Government has already conflicted itself in it’s approach to creative copyright, as outlined by MP Dame Caroline Dinenage, the leader of the ongoing consultation on copyright & AI for the creative industries.
So, let’s break down exactly what is going on here, and why the government seems to be pulling in two different directions.
Key Highlights of the AI Action Plan
People
The plan includes several initiatives to develop AI skills and attract top talent to the UK. This could benefit the film and TV industry by creating a larger pool of technicians capable of integrating AI into production workflows.
Our take: This is the highest priority right now – many risk being left behind or simply replaced as these technologies grow in their capabilities. We must give enough time for the workforce to be re-skilled before we train even more AI capabilities.
Technology
Infrastructure and Compute Power
At the heart of the plan is a commitment to expand the UK’s sovereign compute capacity by at least 20 times by 2030. This massive increase in computing power could revolutionize visual effects and animation in film and TV production.
Peter Kyle, Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, says: “This investment in cutting-edge AI infrastructure will enable our creative industries to push the boundaries of what’s possible in visual storytelling. From faster rendering times to more sophisticated CGI, we’re giving British filmmakers the tools to compete on a global stage.”
Our take: This is promising, but only as promising as it is possible to ensure top-tier security around how assets are trained on using this compute. Many production companies still prefer on-prem hardware to support their pipelines, for the sake of speed, control and safety.
AI Growth Zones
The government plans to establish AI Growth Zones (AIGZs) to accelerate the build-out of AI infrastructure. The first AIGZ will be at Culham, with plans for a 500MW AI data center. While this could provide immense computing power for render farms and AI-assisted production, it also raises concerns about energy consumption.
To address this, an AI Energy Council will be formed. Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary, states: “We’re committed to powering our AI revolution sustainably. This council will explore how we can meet the energy demands of AI while accelerating our transition to renewable sources.”
Our take: Environmental impact of AI training is a huge issue – an accessible, cheap sustainably-produced energy supply would be great, but again is only truly impactful if the resources are actually used by production companies.
The elephant in the room – Copyright.
Commitments have been announced around public data programs to help enable more AI makers to train models without as many legal concerns. They look to achieve this by relaxing restrictions and creating new publicly-available datasets of creative assets, specifically to support AI training.
For example:
- The creation of a National Data Library aims to unlock the value of public sector data assets for AI research and innovation.
- Establishing a “copyright-cleared British media asset training dataset” for AI development.
- A commitment to reform the UK text and data mining regime “to be at least as competitive as the EU” by the end of 2024.
Our take: If this can be done in such as way that people are fairly acknowledged and compensated, and allowed to opt-in then we’re all for it. However the mechanisms to enable these kinds of things have not been proposed or thought through yet. This kind of approach does support open innovation, but many will still struggle to compete with the larger production companies and distributors who can afford to train superior models using the data they already have. Smaller business may be forced to pawn their smaller datasets to the government for a chance to build the AI they need.
The Big Conflict: Put tech first, or put creatives first?
All recommendations in the AI action plan have been agreed to by government. But due to lack of coordination, or simple ignorance, many of the recommendations (or lack thereof) go against the formed conclusions of the ongoing “Copyright and Artificial Intelligence” consultation.
Key points of conflict between the two initiatives include:
- The scope of exception: The Action Plan suggests a broad exception for AI training, while the copyright consultation considers a more limited approach.
- Opt-out mechanism: The Action Plan leans towards an opt-out system for rightsholders, whereas the copyright consultation explores opt-in alternatives.
- Compensation: The copyright consultation raises concerns about fair compensation for creators whose works are used in AI training, which is not directly addressed in the Action Plan
Our take: This push-pull conflict between the government initiatives represents the same conflicts present in industry between tech and creative sectors. Ultimately, there will need to be not only a compromise, but much further development and considerations of how to make a system that is fair for those involved, and not sacrificing the growth of the creative industry in favour of technology growth. We must find a win-win approach, growing both industries in tandem.
As the government works to reconcile the conflicting recommendations between the Action Plan and the copyright consultation, the film and TV industry will need to stay engaged in the process to ensure their interests are protected in this rapidly evolving landscape.
As always, if you need help navigating the new world of AI, reach out to us at [email protected]
