Minister indicates sympathy for artists in debate over AI and copyright
People rightly want to get get paid for their work, says Liz Kendall, in apparent change of tack to predecessor The technology secretary, Liz Kendall, has indicated she is sympathetic to artists’ demands not to have their copyrighted works scraped by AI companies without payment and said she wanted to “reset” the debate,In remarks that suggest a change in approach from her predecessor, Peter Kyle, who had hoped to require artists to actively opt out of having their work ingested by generative AI systems, she said “people rightly want to get paid for the work that they do” and “we have to find a way that both sectors can grow and thrive in future”,The government has been consulting on a new intellectual property framework for AI which, in the case of the most common large language models (LLMs), requires vast amounts of training data to work effectively,The issue has sparked impassioned protests from some of Britain’s most famous artists,This month Paul McCartney released a silent two-minute 45 second track of an empty studio on an album protesting against copyright grabs by AI firms as part of a campaign also backed by Kate Bush, Sam Fender, the Pet Shop Boys and Hans Zimmer.
Elton John, meanwhile, called the UK government “absolute losers” over proposals to let tech firms use copyrighted works without permission and has called Kyle “a bit of a moron”.Kendall, who replaced Kyle in September, said that she and the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, “are right now, having a reset on this discussion.We are talking to the creative sector and AI sector together.”Campaigners for the rights of artists, musicians and writers not to have their copyrighted works used as training data for large AI models, had voiced fears when Kendall appointed a special adviser in September who had previously said “whether or not you philosophically believe the big AI firms should compensate content creators, they in practice will never legally have to”.But Kendall said: “Views before you come to work for the government are not the views of the government.
We’re going to find a deal that helps us move forward together.”She also said she recognised that many parts of the creative sector want transparency about whether their work has been used to train AI systems, which would be a key part of enabling them to be paid.After a $1.5bn (£1.15bn) legal settlement by Anthropic, one of the world’s biggest AI companies, a searchable database of about 500,000 books used to train its models was released last month so authors could find out if their work had been infected and claim payment of about $3,000.
Beeban Kidron, a film director and crossbench peer who has battled in parliament to protect creatives’ rights, welcomed Kendall “making clear that she has recognised the need for creators to protect their property and livelihood”,But Lady Kidron said the government had “lost the trust of the entire creative community and the public, who overwhelmingly support the creative industry’s need to receive a fair day’s pay for their work”,An initial report on the government’s plans is expected before the end of the year, followed by a more substantial report by March 2026,Kidron called for the government to act now by no longer signing public sector deals with AI companies in disputes with copyright-holders, requiring AI companies to be transparent about what works they have trained their systems on and “they can make a commitment to respect copyright”,Kendall said: “I understand why … many creatives are urging us to act immediately because so much has happened already.
“But we’ve got to get this right … there’s a lot of detail to work out here, but I believe it is possible to find a way forward that delivers for both because we don’t want to have to choose.”
Fluffy and fabulous! 17 ways with marshmallows – from cheesecake to salad to an espresso martini
They come into their own around Thanksgiving in the US, used alongside savoury dishes, as well as in desserts. Now is the time to try them with sweet potatoes, in a strawberry mousse, or even with soupThe connection between marsh mallow the herbaceous perennial, also known as althaea officinalis, and marshmallow the puffy cylindrical sweet, is historic. In the 19th century, the sap of the plant was still a key ingredient of its confectionary namesake, along with sugar and egg whites. But that connection has long been severed: the modern industrial marshmallow is derived from a mixture of sugar, water and gelatine. Its main ingredient is air
The Shaston Arms, London W1: ‘Just because you can do things doesn’t mean you should do them’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
A pub that wants to be an old-school boozer and a cool restaurant both at the same timeWhile perched inside what felt like a repurposed bookshelf at the draughty back end of the Shaston Arms, sitting next to the dumb waiter and waiting for the ping to herald the arrival of my £16 plate of red mullet with squid ink rice, I had time to consider yet again the so-called “pub revival” in cool modern hospitality. Old boozers are reclaimed, reloved and restored, and the great tradition of going down the pub is celebrated. The Devonshire in nearby Piccadilly is, of course, the daddy, the Darth Vader of this trend, winning plaudits, TikTok adoration and celebrity fans aplenty. So it’s no wonder that myriad other hospitality operators have cast an eye over their local neglected fleapit and thought: “Let’s buy some Mr Sheen, give that old hovel a polish and start serving duck à l’orange and flourless chocolate tart. It’s all the rage! Gen Z loves it!”Whether Gen Z really does love anything about the pub experience as it was in the 20th century is debatable, however, because inside these poshed-up spit-and-sawdust boozers, all the phlegm and fag ash has gone – as have the dartboards, pool tables, punch-ups, topless women on KP peanut pub cards and the ever-present bar-fly alcoholic drinking himself yellow while droning on about his marital problems
Goblets of borscht, turkey-shaped madeleines: why Martha Stewart’s fantastical menus are still an inspiration
The celebrations were imminent and the greenhouse ready to accommodate – among the orchids, in unseasonable November warmth – an intimate Hawaiian luau. The table was set with giant clam shells for serving vessels and miniature hibachis for grilling Dungeness crab. Somebody had found a small, pink pineapple and secured it on the watermelon like a brooch. The hostess considered the merits of a hula dancer, but in the end settled on a more succinct spectacle: a 19lb suckling pig, enwreathed with sub-tropical flowers and caparisoned in bronze.It was, and could only ever have been, a Martha Stewart affair
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Helen Goh’s recipe for cranberry, orange and ginger upside-down cake | The sweet spot
Bright, tart cranberries are one of the most vivid flavours of the Thanksgiving table, but they often play a supporting role to turkey and stuffing. Here, however, they take centre stage in a sparkling upside-down cake, and their ruby tones gleam over a tender, orange-scented crumb. The batter is enriched with soured cream, ensuring every bite is a balance of sweet, sharp and soft.A note about the cranberries: if using frozen, do not defrost them first.Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr 15 min, plus cooling Serves 8-10For the cranberry caramel base 60g unsalted butter 100g light brown sugar 1 tbsp fresh orange juice2 tsp finely grated ginger⅛ tsp flaky sea salt250g fresh or frozen cranberriesFor the cake batter150g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda ¼ tsp fine sea salt 120g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing150g caster sugar Finely grated zest of 1 orange 2 large eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 120g full-fat soured creamGrease a 20cm round cake tin (at least 5cm deep, and not springform), then line the base and sides with baking paper
Why nonalcoholic spirits go from strength to strength
It’s time to start thinking about the C word. You might well already have plans to stock up for house guests who are drinking, but what about those who aren’t? It’s a good opportunity to think about how we might jazz up our non-alcoholic offering for friends and family who are trying to drink less, or not drinking booze at all. Sometimes, your friend will just want a Fanta, but I don’t like being the one to offer it to them. We can do better than that.The Guardian’s journalism is independent
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