Creators-led organisations warn about an AI-induced industrial collapse

"Brave New World? Justice for creators in the age of GenAI" report authors:(left to right) Anna Ganley, CEO of Society of Authors, Deborah Annetts, CEO of Independent Society of Musicians, Isabelle Doran, CEO of Association of Photographers, and Rachel Hill, CEO of Association of Illustrators. (Picture shared by SoA.)

Five major creator-led organisations blame the UK Government for allowing multinational companies to profit from intellectual property from their members, while they see their livelihoods disappear. The Society of Authors (SoA), Association of Illustrators (AOI), Independent Society of Musicians (ISM), Association of Photographers (AOP), and Equity make this accusation in the report Brave New World? Justice for Creators in the Age of Gen AI.

“This report calls for justice — and that framing is crucial. There is no special pleading here, nor any blindness to the opportunities inherent in AI,” writes Baroness Beeban Kidron, Crossbench Peer and filmmaker. “What is being taken, in plain sight, is the private property of UK citizens, protected by UK law. It is not the government’s to give away. To do so is an injustice.”

The authors of the report present a CLEAR Framework for AI, with recommendations both for the Government, regulators and creative sector:

• C - Consent first, so that AI companies must get permission from creators before using content for training
• L - Licensing, not scraping, with AI companies agreeing with creators whether content can be used in training, both through direct deals with individuals and broader collective agreements
• E - Ethical use of training data, recognising that creative works don’t come for free
• A - Accountability and transparency, clearly labelling AI-generated content and helping creators check if their work has been stolen for training
• R - Remuneration and rights, with licenses including a fair rate of remuneration

The ABSW Board strongly supports this framework. We also note that the BBC, FT, Sky News, Guardian and Telegraph have formed a coalition to prevent scraping without permission. 

We also recognise our members are in a slightly different position to the creative industries represented in the report. Many of us make our living by reporting on new AI tools. We might also exploit machine learning-driven technology for transcription or other tasks, even as generative AI threatens our roles. 

In a paper recently published by ABSW board member Andy Ridgway and colleagues, across Brazil, India and the UK, science writers and journalists questioned on average neither agree nor disagree with the statement "Artificial intelligence and automation is a threat to science journalists’ jobs". Those in the UK were less likely to agree that science journalism is being positively impacted by AI, whereas those in India and Brazil were more likely to use AI to help them write in a second language, for example.

Financial harm

The Brave New World? report is based on both quantitative and qualitative data gathered between 2022 and 2025 from more than 10,000 professional creators across writing, illustration, music, photography and performance, and details risks to creators, such as violation of privacy and intellectual property rights, and undermining the right to work and to fair remuneration. The report also highlights environmental consequences and economic disparities.

Some of the key findings include:

• 99% of creators say their work has been scraped without consent;
• 88% of authors fear that GenAI can imitate their style, and 83% voice artists report that cloned voices and AI-generated avatars are already circulating online;
• 72% of authors say job opportunities have already been cut due to GenAI;
• 86% of authors say GenAI has already reduced their earnings;
• Creators report lower fees for ‘fixing’ AI output instead of producing original work (according to another report quote).

Call to action

• Email your MP

You can take action by asking your MP to stand up for creators and the creative industries. Enter your postcode here to get started, and then choose if you can use the provided template email or if you want to insert your own text. 

• Share on Social Media

The Society of Authors is asking authors to “show the creator behind the book” on social media by sharing a video reveal. Hold your book open in front of your face, and slowly move the book down to reveal who you are (check an example on the website). Use the hashtag #TheWriterBehindTheWords.

Why not be creative and “show the science writer” behind articles and other content?