Australian government documents indicate that artificial intelligence companies could train their models on copyrighted material without compensating the people who created it, according to ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The papers sit alongside a proposed copyright arrangement under which AI developers would be allowed to train on protected works at no cost provided they meet certain quotas, according to afr.com. The Age reports that the Labor government is offering a copyright deal intended to attract major AI companies, though the proposal comes with conditions attached.
The plan has drawn criticism from within parliament. Senator David Pocock said easing copyright protections in exchange for AI data centre investment would leave creative workers "under the bus," The Guardian reports.
Coverage of the proposal has also focused on the tech industry's own lobbying. The Australian reports that OpenAI delivered an ultimatum to the Prime Minister, linking any discussion of renewable energy to the dilution of creators' rights.
Together, the reports describe a debate in which the interests of AI developers, energy infrastructure and Australia's creative sector are being weighed against one another. The documents reported by ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation suggest that, under current thinking, creators would not receive payment when their work is used to train AI systems.
What to watch next: whether the government formally adopts the quota-based copyright model, and how the AI companies and creative groups respond.