Key facts
- Millions of creative works by Australian artists, including music and novels, were found in datasets used for AI training.
- Musicians Paul Dempsey, Bernard Fanning, Darren Hayes, and artists like Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, and Powderfinger were identified in these datasets.
- Artists argue that AI training on their work without consent or compensation devalues human creativity and undermines their contractual agreements.
- Music licensing organization APRA AMCOS stated that major tech platforms have not engaged in fair payment negotiations.
- Australian intellectual property laws require permission and payment for copyright use, but the tech industry has pushed for exemptions.
Prominent Australian musicians have voiced strong objections after discovering that their original songs and literary works have been included in large datasets used to train artificial intelligence models. A search tool created by The Atlantic revealed that millions of creative works, including those by Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, Powderfinger, and Jimmy Barnes, as well as novels by Thomas Keneally and Peter Carey, were scraped from the internet.
Musicians like Paul Dempsey and Bernard Fanning expressed frustration and a sense of violation, arguing that this practice renders their career-long negotiations and contracts useless. Dempsey stated that artists' ability to negotiate fair terms for their content is being undermined. Fanning questioned the desire for robots to create art, emphasizing that the essence of art lies in human emotion and experience, which AI cannot replicate.
Darren Hayes shared his fury on Instagram, describing the use of his music as a violation and theft. He highlighted the extensive effort put into his 30-year career, including hits from Savage Garden, and felt it was being exploited by AI software. The Australian artists' works were found in datasets compiled by groups like Sleeping AI and LAION, which included millions of music tracks and lyrics.
Music licensing organization APRA AMCOS criticized major tech platforms for failing to engage in negotiations and for lobbying governments for exemptions to copyright laws. APRA AMCOS chief executive Dean Ormston stated that tech platforms have proposed solutions designed to avoid paying creators. Australia's intellectual property laws require permission and agreed-upon terms before copyright works are used, but the IT industry has advocated for text and data mining exemptions. Proposed changes in August 2025 that would have legalized AI companies using content without payment were rejected by the federal government in October.