A capitalist contest: the AI industry v. the creative industries

This paper examines whether artificial intelligence industry developers of large language models should be permitted to use copyrighted works to train their models without permission and compensation to creative industries rightsholders. This is examined in the UK context by contrasting a dominant social imaginary that prioritises market driven-growth of generative artificial intelligence applications that require text and data mining, and an alternative imaginary emphasising equity and non-market values. Policy proposals, including licensing, are discussed. It is argued that current debates privilege the interests of Big Tech in exploiting online data for profit, neglecting policies that could help to ensure that technology innovation and creative labour both contribute to the public good.