Radiohead, Robert Smith, Billy Bragg, & More Sign Statement Protesting “Unlicensed Use Of Creative Work” In AI Training

Radiohead may be in a state of flux, but all five members can agree on one thing: They don’t want their work to be used in AI training without their consent. As the Washington Post points out, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, and Philip Selway are among more than 10,500 actors, musicians, and authors who’ve signed an open letter protesting “the unlicensed use of creative works for training generative AI.”

Some of the other musical artists and composers who’ve signed the letter include the Cure’s Robert Smith, Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, Billy Bragg, ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, Max Richter, Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard, Jamiroquai’s Jason Kay, AURORA, Nitin Sawhney, and Sir John Rutter. Actors including Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kate McKinnon, Rosie O’Donnell, Melissa Joan Hart, and Sean Astin are on the list, as are writers like Kazuo Ishiguro and Emily St. John Mandel.

Here’s the full 29-word “Statement on AI training”: “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.” You can sign your own name to the statement and peruse the full list of signatories here.

In April, artists such as Billie Eilish, R.E.M., and Nicki Minaj signed a separate open letter protesting “the predatory use of AI” in the music industry.