Leo Gillick
AI has already stolen all the art, writing, and music available online with no regard for copyright. But now, with the next step in AI models, they’re also able to replicate real people. So, Denmark has introduced a law allowing people to copyright their faces, voices, and images to protect them from the AI vacuum.
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What’s going on: Art theft is what most AI models run off. They suck up people’s writing, their art, and their thoughts, and regurgitate them as their own. Of course, the blame lies with the people feeding and coding them. But it’s become a real problem.
- As a writer online, my words are my trade. The voice I have developed, along with the opinions I share with my readers, is where my value lies. AI is able to take all of my work, process it, and replicate it in a similar style. This is how it works, and it’s foul. There are a few laws surrounding the theft of people’s work, but not nearly enough.
Just look at the disgusting way ChatGPT copied the Ghibli style.
Now, AI is coming for your face, voice, and image. But Denmark has stepped in with a law that will let people copyright themselves, making it illegal for AI companies to use them.
A Right To Remain Individual
The new law: The basic framework for the new anti-AI law is quite simple and very clear.
- Removal – Any content using the face, image, or voice of a person, produced by AI, must be removed at the request of the person.
- Compensation – If damage is caused by the unauthorised use of a person’s face, image, or voice with AI, that person is able to claim damages. No proof of damages needs to be provided.
- Liability – Technology platforms and hosting providers face significant fines if they fail to respond quickly when notified of illegal content
The new law is still undergoing the due process needed to establish it. It will be under review throughout 2025, giving space and time for various lawmakers, businesses, and others to have their say. However, if passed, it will mark a huge leap forward in the ownership of image and identity by AI.
I just wish there had been more in place from the beginning. Millions of creatives have had their work sucked into AI models and replicated with no thought to the importance of identity in art. To see someone’s work recreated by an AI model, knowing the work, passion, and history that goes into it, is heartbreaking.
