Not OK, Computer: Radiohead’s Thom Yorke among thousands signing open letter denouncing AI

Major artists, including Radiohead's Thom Yorke, actress Julianne Moore, and Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, have joined over 17,000 creatives in signing an open letter condemning the unauthorized use of their work to train AI systems.

The 26-word letter states plainly: “The unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI is a major, unjust threat to the livelihoods of the people behind those works, and must not be permitted.”

In addition to Thom Yorke and other members of Radiohead, whose music often portends technological doom, the initiative has drawn support from across the entertainment industry, with signatures from actor Kevin Bacon, comedian Kate McKinnon, author Ann Patchett, and ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, among others.

This latest action follows an earlier music industry letter from the Artist Rights Alliance in April, which attracted signatures from over 200 prominent artists including Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, Nicki Minaj, and Pearl Jam. That letter warned of “catastrophic” consequences for working musicians and artists.

The creative industry’s resistance to unauthorized AI training has already sparked legal action. Penguin Random House recently became the first major publisher to modify its copyright language specifically to address AI concerns.

The Recording Industry Association of America has sued AI music startup Suno and Udio over copyrighted material, while The New York Times has taken legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement.

The widespread support for these initiatives highlights growing concern over AI models, which train on vast amounts of existing creative content without explicit permission from creators or rights holders.

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