A former top Meta exec says AI is doomed if artists want tech firms to ask for permission to train models on their work

• Clegg was Meta's president of global affairs. He left the company in January.
• Clegg said it would be tough for companies to ask artists before training models on their work.
• He said this would "basically kill the AI industry" in the UK.

Former Meta executive Nick Clegg says the UK's AI industry will be killed if tech companies must ask artists for permission to use their work when training models.

Clegg was promoting his upcoming book "How to Save the Internet" at the Charleston Festival on Thursday when he was asked about artists' demands for tighter AI copyright laws.

Clegg said it would be reasonable to let artists "opt out of having their creativity, their products, what they've worked on indefinitely modeled."

However, he said it would be "somewhat implausible" if they expect companies to get permission before training models.

Clegg said this is because "these systems train on vast amounts of data."

"I just don't know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don't see how that would work. And by the way, if you did it in Britain and no one else did it, you would basically kill the AI industry in this country overnight," Clegg continued.

Clegg was the UK's deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015. He joined Meta in 2018 as its vice president for global affairs and communications and was promoted to president of global affairs in 2022. He announced his departure from Meta in January.

Clegg and representatives for Meta did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

In October, the UK government introduced the Data (Use and Access) Bill. The bill will allow companies to train AI on creative works such as books and music, unless the copyright holder opts out.

Earlier this month, the House of Lords voted to amend the bill to require tech companies to disclose and seek consent before using copyrighted material to train their models. The House of Commons rejected the change.

Singer Elton John said in an interview with the BBC on May 18 that he was "very angry" with the bill, as it would allow tech companies to engage in "theft, thievery on a high scale." He said he was prepared to take the government to court and "fight it all the way."

"It's criminal, in that I feel incredibly betrayed," John said.