Australian AI Inquiry hears calls to protect creatives from Big Tech

Australian cultural sector representatives testified before the national AI Inquiry on October 15, urging lawmakers to prioritize copyright protections and workers' rights against large technology companies. During a discussion broadcast on community radio station 3RRR, academics Rachel Withers and Natalie Tkacz joined writer Sophie Cunningham to argue that current regulatory frameworks fail to adequately compensate creators whose work trains generative models. The panel emphasized that intellectual property safeguards must be codified alongside AI development incentives rather than treated as secondary concerns. This testimony reflects growing pressure from Australia’s creative industries to ensure artificial intelligence legislation addresses economic displacement and unauthorized data usage. The inquiry is currently evaluating submissions to determine whether existing copyright laws require amendment to address machine learning training practices. Stakeholders contend that without explicit statutory protections, domestic creative sectors face existential threats from unlicensed commercial AI systems.