Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the use of artificial intelligence to collect literature, art, and music data; and whether she is taking steps to support (a) individuals and (b) businesses in those industries with data management.

The Government is aware of the rapid technological progress in AI, and the Office for AI is developing an adaptive and proportionate regulatory framework for AI, to be published in a forthcoming AI regulation white paper.

In terms of the specific implications for copyrighted works, the UK has a world leading copyright and IP protection regime. We know how important this is for the continued success of our creative industries and we want to maintain it.

We also have ambitions to be a world leader in AI innovation and research. This is why the Government consulted on whether it should be easier to use text and data mining techniques with copyright material.

However, we recognise the concerns of the creative industries and want to make sure we get the balance between protecting rights holders and promoting digital innovation rights.

We are confident that together we can design a balanced approach which supports the Government’s ambitions on AI innovation without critically undermining value for rights holders.

Finally, the Intellectual Property Office is working closely with stakeholders from across the music industry to improve metadata practices in music streaming, to support creators being credited and paid promptly and accurately.