“In the vacuum of any meaningful policy from governments, we have come together to define how generative AI services should be governed to protect and support human creators,” said Anna Ganley, CEO of the U.K.-based Society of Authors, in a release.

By Andrew Richard Albanese, Editor-in-Chief

Amid growing calls about the existential threats of unregulated AI technology, the U.K.-based Society of Authors (SoA) this week announced that it has joined forces with other international writers and creative industry organizations in support of “a global charter” for the “responsible and ethical use” of generative AI services.

In a release, the SoA said authors including Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, Tracy Chevalier, and Kester Brewin have all backed backed the Charter thus far, which “aims to define how generative AI services should be deployed to help protect and support human creators.”

The charter builds on UNESCO’s 10 core principles of responsible AI, and also includes a commitment to respect the CLEAR framework to protect the livelihoods of creators.

Among its provisions, the Charter calls for authors and publishing industry stakeholders (including agents, publishers, and prize bodies) to pledge to only use generative AI in “a transparent, responsible and ethical way” that balances the benefits of the technology with other potential impacts on both people and the planet.

“In the vacuum of any meaningful policy from governments, we have come together to define how generative AI services should be governed to protect and support human creators,” said Anna Ganley, CEO of the SoA and Chair, in a statement. “We have been campaigning for years against the unlawful conduct of Big Tech which has shown scant regard for copyright, the risks of unregulated generative AI, and to raise awareness about the inherent risks of this technology, which is not only a danger to human creativity but also to broader society.”

Chair of the SoA’s Author’s board Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin (also known as bestselling author Sam Blake) added that “now is the time” for industry stakeholders to lead on AI regulation.

“I will be encouraging all of my publishers to sign and urge all industry organizations to show their support for human creativity by adding their name,” O’Loughlin said. “It’s vital that we stand together, now more than at any other time.”

With governments across the globe “still not committing to AI regulation and oversight,” the Charter specifically asks signatories to:

• Promote responsible and ethical use of generative AI services: balancing the technological benefits with the environmental, social, societal, economic, democratic, and ethical impacts for humans and the planet.
• Comply with the evolving best practice recommendations on AI ethics and governance: with respect to UNESCO’s 10 core principles of responsible AI and also the CLEAR framework (outlined in the Brave New World report) which has been adapted for use with this Charter.
• To ensure that where AI is used, it is used for good: to widen access, inclusion and opportunity and to increase discoverability, helping more creators, from more backgrounds, reach wider audiences, and help to make creative work more accessible to all.
• To work mindfully in relation to impact: on human jobs, livelihoods, and the environment, investing in people’s skills so that they can share in the benefits.

Signatories also pledge to: “educate and train our workforce” to “better understand” how AI can be used responsibly, safely and sustainably; to review “any potential generative AI use cases and conduct risk assessments,” covering IP rights, data protection, the tech’s impact on creators, as well as “diversity and sustainability” policies; to “create and update” an “ethical AI Permitted Use and Disclosure” policy, and to make that policy widely available; to push for a “consent-based systems” that includes the permission of rightsholders; and, to ensure transparency when “AI-generated content forms a material part” of a published work.

“It’s of vital importance that we in the creative industry have a charter like this to guide, discipline, and inspire us,” said acclaimed author Kazuo Ishiguro, in a statement, “a core set of principles we can debate and continue to review—and around which we can rally to defend what we do and make our voices heard in these pivotal days of change.”

Author Tracy Chevalier called the charter “a step in the right direction towards transparency, so that we all think more carefully about how we use this shiny new tool.” Author Kester Brewin agreed. “This international charter represents a significant moment, not just in the battle for just and fair payment for authors and other creatives, but also in a pragmatic set of principles through which innovation, transparency and fair use can become a reality,” Brewin said. “It is only through international cooperation and action that we can embed not just responsible AI use, but pressure AI companies into taking responsibility.”

In crafting the Charter, SoA worked with the Creators’ Rights Alliance (CRA) in the U.K., the Authors Guild in the U.S.; the Australian Society of Authors; the Writers’ Union of Canada; and the New Zealand Society of Authors.

You can view (and sign) the charter here.