Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
A US court filing earlier this year alleged that Meta mined online library 'LibGen' to train its AI models. Around 100 authors on Thursday protested outside the London headquarters of Meta, accusing the US tech giant of "stealing" content to train its Artificial Intelligence models. Writers chanted "Meta, Meta, book thieves" as they made their way to the Meta building, with some carrying placards reading "I'd write a sign but you'd steal it" and "Get the Zuck off our books", in reference to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Allegations against Meta
A US court filing earlier this year alleged that Zuckerberg approved the company using the online library "LibGen", which provides access to copyrighted works and contains more than 7.5 million books. The Atlantic magazine has published a searchable database of the titles contained in "LibGen", allowing authors to find out if their works may have been used to train Meta's AI models. A Meta spokesperson told the Guardian that "we respect third-party intellectual property rights and believe our use of information to train AI models is consistent with existing law."
Authors' Reactions
AJ West, author of "The Spirit Engineer", expressed feeling "abused and disgusted" when he found his work on the database. He mentioned, "To have my work that took years to write, and that I poured my heart and soul into, used to make tech billionaires even more money, without my permission, is so disgusting." West also attempted to deliver a letter, signed by leading authors including Kate Mosse and Richard Osman, at the Meta front desk, but found the doors locked.
"It's very telling that a company that saw fit to steal billions of words is now afraid of 500 words on one sheet of paper. It's insult piled upon insult," West said, calling on the UK government to intervene in the matter.
Call for Government Intervention
Author and TV writer Gail Renard emphasized the importance of consequences for such actions and highlighted the significance of copyright in the creative industry. She mentioned the anger within the creative community and urged the UK government to take action, criticizing Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his stance.
Artist and author Sophie Parkin also expressed her concern, stating, "What's the point of going on writing if they aren't even creating anything, they are stealing our words and then making money out of it." Parkin called for government action and condemned the actions of tech companies in exploiting authors' work without consent.
Industry Impact
The protest highlighted the frustration of creators towards companies utilizing generative AI platforms without proper authorization. Major AI companies have claimed protection under US "fair use" provisions, but the validity of these claims is being tested in courts in America and elsewhere.
