According to #NickClegg, if tech companies had to actually ask permission before using artists’ work to train #AI models, the entire industry would grind to a halt. Too complicated. Too slow. Too expensive. Or as he put it: “incompatible with the physics of the technology.”
That’s a heavy statement. Because it basically admits the system only works if you skip consent. Take first, maybe offer an opt-out later. It’s like saying: “We can’t afford to respect your rights—we just hope you don’t notice or can’t afford to fight back.”
Here’s the paradox. On one side: artists, writers, photographers, journalists, musicians—asking for one simple thing: to be acknowledged. To have a voice. To not be quietly cannibalized.
On the other: billion-dollar #tech companies saying, “If we have to ask, we’ll die.”
And in between? Reality. AI needs data to function. But that data, in most cases, comes from human work. Created with time, talent, and effort. If a whole industry depends on using it for free just because paying would be harder, then the issue isn’t the artist raising their voice.
The issue is the business model.