Don't let AI 'rip off' artists, Beatles star McCartney warns UK government

Beatles musician Paul McCartney has warned that artificial intelligence could be used to "rip off" artists, urging the British government to make sure upcoming copyright reforms protect its creative industries.

Globally the music and film industries are grappling with the legal and ethical implications of AI models that can produce their own output after being trained on popular works, without necessarily paying the creators of the original content.

Britain in December proposed a way for artists to license their work to be used in training AI, but also said there should be an exception "to support use at scale of a wide range of material by AI developers where rights have not been reserved."

In a BBC interview broadcast on Sunday, McCartney said he was worried only tech giants would benefit unless copyrights were properly protected.

"AI is a great thing, but it shouldn't rip creative people off," McCartney said. "Make sure you protect the creative thinkers, the creative artists, or you're not going to have them. As simple as that."

The government is currently consulting on its reforms to copyright law, saying there was legal uncertainty about how the existing laws are applied in Britain that risked undermining investment and adoption of AI technology.

McCartney, who in 2023 used AI to help recreate the voice of late Beatles band member John Lennon from an old cassette recording, said there was a risk that artists could lose out if the changes were not handled properly.

"You get young guys, girls, coming up, and they write a beautiful song, and they don't own it, and they don't have anything to do with it and anyone who wants can just rip it off," he said.

"The truth is, the money's going somewhere, you know, and it gets on the streaming platforms - somebody's getting it, and it should be the person who created it. It shouldn't just be some tech giant somewhere."