WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee today emphasized the importance of establishing protections to help creators—musicians, artists, writers, and others—access the courts to protect their copyrighted works if and when they are used to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) models. Senator Welch urged Congress to pass the Transparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks (TRAIN) Act, bipartisan legislation that would allow copyright holders to access training records used for AI models to determine if their work was used—a process currently used for internet piracy.
“The AI companies need content, so they don’t care where it comes from. It’s just a voracious, insatiable appetite, and they’re going to go into copyrighted material. We know that, and to suggest they won’t, I think, is naïve. And the question, and the burden here is—that is going into copyrighted material. And the artist has the right to have that copyright respected. The burden is that how do you know they used it? That’s the whole point of the TRAIN Act, where if there is copyright infringement, a reasonable assertion of that and suspicion of it is going to require disclosure on the part of the AI platform,” said Senator Welch.
Watch Senator Welch’s full remarks below:
Read key excerpts from Senator Welch’s exchange with Michael Smith, Professor of Information Technology and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University:
“Music is so important. It really helps people get a sense of who they are, it helps people connect, and it’s across political divisions. That’s what’s one of the inspiring things about the incredible contributions that musicians provide to our society. Can you just explain what the dangers are of allowing AI models to freely train off of copyrighted works?” asked Senator Welch.
Mr. Michael Smith testified: “There are multiple dangers…When you sign a license with a generative AI company, you’re signing with a gun to your head because they can say, ‘either sign what I’m offering or I’m going to go steal it instead.’ That’s troubling.”
Senator Welch: “This is the concern I have about how this AI…is going to make it tougher for those folks against great odds to keep at it. So maybe you could just—from your experience—talk a little bit about how it would adversely impact any chance they have of being able to pay their bills at the end of the month while they’re trying to create inspirational music for the benefit of all of us.”
Mr. Smith: “I deeply share that concern, Senator, and it’s based on peer-reviewed academic research showing that creative output goes down when piracy is allowed to flourish. I worry that the future David Baldaccis of the world won’t get through that hump. And we won’t get to appreciate their creative output if we allow piracy to be used to continue to train these generative AI models.”
Senator Welch is focused on strengthening consumer protections and safety around emerging technologies, including AI. Last Congress, Senator Welch introduced the Artificial Intelligence Consumer Opt-In, Notification Standards, and Ethical Norms for Training (AI CONSENT) Act, legislation that would require online platforms to obtain consumers’ express informed consent before using their personal data to train AI models. Senator Welch also introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act, legislation to create an expert federal agency to provide comprehensive regulation of digital platforms to protect consumers, promote competition, and safeguard the public interest.
Learn more about Senator Welch’s work by visiting his website or by following him on social media.
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