Thousands of authors publish ‘empty’ book in protest over AI using their work
Thousands of authors including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman have published an “empty” book to protest against AI firms using their work without permission,About 10,000 writers have contributed to Don’t Steal This Book, in which the only content is a list of their names,Copies of the work are being distributed to attenders at the London book fair on Tuesday, a week before the UK government is due to issue an assessment on the economic cost of proposed changes in copyright law,By 18 March ministers must deliver an economic impact assessment as well as a progress update on a consultation about the legal overhaul, against a backdrop of anger among creative professionals about how their work is being used by AI firms,The organiser of the book, Ed Newton-Rex, a composer and campaigner for protecting artists’ copyright, said the AI industry was “built on stolen work … taken without permission or payment”.
He added: “This is not a victimless crime – generative AI competes with the people whose work it is trained on, robbing them of their livelihoods.The government must protect the UK’s creatives, and refuse to legalise the theft of creative work by AI companies.”Other authors who have contributed their names to the book include the Slow Horses author, Mick Herron; the author Marian Keyes; the historian David Olusoga; and Malorie Blackman, the writer of Noughts and Crosses.“It is not in any way unreasonable to expect AI companies to pay for the use of authors’ books,” said Blackman.The books’s back cover says: “The UK government must not legalise book theft to benefit AI companies.
”Publishers will also launch an AI licensing initiative at the London book fair,Publishers’ Licensing Services, a non-profit industry body, is setting up a collective licensing scheme and has invited the sector to sign up to it in the expectation it will give legal access to published works,AI requires vast amounts of data, including copyright-protected work taken from the open web, to develop tools such as chatbots and image generators,This has caused consternation among creative professionals and companies worldwide, triggering lawsuits on both sides of the Atlantic,Last year Anthropic, a leading AI firm and the developer of the Claude chatbot, agreed to pay $1.
5bn (£1,1bn) to settle a class-action lawsuit by book authors who said the startup took pirated copies of their works to train its flagship product,British artists have responded with outrage at the main government proposal in the consultation,It proposes letting AI firms use copyright-protected work without the owner’s permission – unless the owner has signalled that they want to opt out of the process,Elton John is among the artists to have protested over the prospect of a relaxation in copyright law, calling the government “absolute losers”.
As well as the main government proposal, ministers have suggested three further options: to leave the situation unchanged; to require AI companies to seek licences for using copyrighted work; or to allow AI firms to use copyrighted work with no opt-out for creative companies and individuals.The government has also refused to rule out a copyright waiver for using material for the purposes of “commercial research”, which creative professionals fear could be exploited by AI firms to take artists’ work without permission.A government spokesperson said: “The government wants a copyright regime that values and protects human creativity, can be trusted, and unlocks innovation.We will continue to engage closely with the creative sector on this issue, and we will meet our commitment to update parliament by March 18th.”
Dominant Lossiemouth a winner as Cheltenham puts civil war on hold
No sooner had Lossiemouth lifted the roof off Cheltenham with a staggeringly dominant Champion Hurdle victory than the skies around Prestbury Park also began to brighten too. The buildup to the festival had been dominated by talk of civil war, of feuding and internecine conflict. But this was a reminder of the sport’s simple pleasures. Horse and jockey. Fence and turf
Holding out for a Hero? How cricket’s Hundred auction works and who is available
A rather drab event space hidden away next to Boots near Piccadilly Circus feels a long way from the 18,000-capacity Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, where the Indian Premier League auction was held in December, but the Hundred will take a significant step in the direction of its new big brother when the first major player auction in English sport takes place on Wednesday and Thursday.As is likely to be the case for all aspects of the competition moving forward the impetus for switching from a player draft to an auction has come from the new overseas investors, four of whom also own IPL teams, who having committed £975m to buying stakes of between 49% and 100% in the eight Hundred franchises, understandably want to control its future.For the first five editions of the Hundred recruitment operated via a draft system, with players registering themselves at one of five fixed salary bands, and the franchises taking it in turns to select five players from each to complete a squad.In the new auction all players will be bought via competitive bids, although they have all been assigned a category – Hero, Ranked and Nominated – based on the interest they attracted when franchises submitted initial shortlists.The women’s auction takes place on the opening day, followed by the men’s teams 24 hours later, with a day of bidding thanks to a total of 425 names in the hat
Neil Simpson wins first Great Britain medal at Winter Paralympics with skiing silver
Great Britain won their first medal of the Winter Paralympics on Tuesday as Neil Simpson imposed himself on a stacked field to claim silver in the men’s visually impaired alpine combined.Finishing second behind the home favourite Giacomo Bertagnolli, but ahead of Austria’s Johannes Aigner, who has won two gold medals at these Games, Simpson found the form the British team had been hoping for as he recorded a leading time in the final slalom race to pull himself up from fourth place in the standings.Tension had been rising inside ParalympicsGB after the first three days of competition saw British athletes repeatedly fall short, including Simpson who came fourth in the downhill on Monday after winning gold in Beijing four years ago. Earlier on Tuesday there had been further disappointment when Menna Fitzpatrick came last in the women’s VI combined. But with Britain now on the board thanks to the 23-year-old Simpson, there will be renewed confidence going into the remainder of the week
Cheltenham festival day two: L’Eau Du Sud can edge Majborough in Champion Chase
The key question before the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham on Wednesday is which version of Majborough will turn up.If it is the Majborough that powered 19 lengths clear of Marine Nationale, the Champion Chase winner last year but sadly absent this time, at Leopardstown in February, his likely price of around 5-6 will look like one of the bets of the meeting.Majborough’s failure to justify short odds in the Arkle here 12 months ago is still painfully raw for his backers, however, and Willie Mullins’s chaser could be a favourite to take on, given the unforgiving nature of a race in which a single mistake can end a runner’s chance.Il Etait Temps, a stable companion of the market leader, was the favourite for the race on Wednesday before his run in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, but he was already soundly beaten before taking a crashing fall two out and it remains to be seen if that has left a mark.The novice Irish Panther is an interesting contender for a race which is wide open if the favourite disappoints, but the proven course form of L’Eau Du Sud (4
Ladies Day returns to Cheltenham festival promising ‘glamour and glory’
First and foremost, it is a huge sporting event, billed by its fans as the Olympics of jump racing – but it can also act as a social barometer, giving clues as to the state and mood of the nation.This year’s Cheltenham festival, which began on Tuesday, feels a little like a step back in time with the return of “Ladies Day” after a five-year hiatus and a reduction in the price of a pint.In 2024, a decision by the Jockey Club, which owns the racecourse, to launch a unisex “Style Wednesday” on what used to be Ladies Day was labelled “woke” by some rightwing commentators.The Jockey Club persisted with the free-for-all last year but this time Ladies Day is back and billed as a celebration of “glamour and glory”.There will be prizes for the best-dressed individual, duo and group, and the former jump jockey champion Rachael Blackmore has been appointed “head of Ladies Day”
England recall Ollie Chessum for France game as Borthwick fights for his future
Steve Borthwick has insisted the Rugby Football Union’s vote of confidence has not put him on notice and that he is ready to fight for his future when he reviews England’s Six Nations campaign with the chief executive, Bill Sweeney.Borthwick has recalled Ollie Chessum to his starting lineup for the daunting trip to France on Saturday but otherwise kept faith with the underfire players who suffered England’s first defeat by Italy last weekend. The head coach has also made it clear that he expects his senior leaders – Maro Itoje, Ellis Genge and Jamie George – to step up in Paris as England seek to avoid their worst Six Nations campaign.After the defeat last Saturday, Sweeney took unprecedented action when issuing a statement before the championship was over, offering Borthwick qualified support but making clear improvements were needed against France as well as in the summer Nations Championship fixtures against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina.The RFU also demanded “open” dialogue with Borthwick and his coaches in the coming weeks and will hold what is sure to be an uncomfortable review in an attempt to address England’s rapid decline
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