Ottawa launches AI and Culture Advisory Council to protect Canadian creators
The federal government announced a new advisory council Tuesday to address how artificial intelligence affects Canada's creative industries, as a three-day summit in Banff wrapped up.
The Advisory Council on AI and Culture will have 12 rotating members drawn from creative and technology fields. The council is a joint effort between the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture. No members have been appointed yet.
Minister Evan Solomon said the council will formalize how the two ministries work together on AI issues affecting creators. "We want a permanent way that, one, our ministries work together; two, that we codify the kind of stories and information that are here; and three, that we have a way that we can deal with ongoing issues," he said.
Copyright concerns dominate discussion
More than 300 artists, technology leaders, researchers and policymakers attended the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Copyright emerged as a central concern.
Margaret McGuffin, CEO of Music Publishers Canada, said artists worry AI will undermine their livelihoods. She called for tech companies to include creators earlier in the development process. "The tech companies who are developing AI often forget to talk to the creators, the songwriters, the people who own the songs," McGuffin said.
She emphasized three priorities: transparency in AI training datasets, ethical development practices, and compensation for songwriters whose work is used to train systems.
McGuffin acknowledged the anxiety among creative professionals. "You're really busy as a creative entrepreneur putting your career together and then this hits, and it just seems like one more thing that's out of your control," she said. But she expressed optimism about early licensing agreements between music companies and AI developers.
Government reaffirms copyright protections
Minister Marc Miller said Canadian copyright law already protects creators' work. "The current copyright law does and should protect those that have created material, and people need to be compensated properly," he said.
Miller cautioned that broader intellectual property reform extends beyond AI and will take years to implement.
For more on how AI affects your creative practice, see our guide to AI for Creatives.
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