Published
Thu, May 2, 2024, 14:20
- The UK artist joined Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl and others at Tuesday's Judiciary subcommittee.
FKA twigs appeared on Tuesday, April 30th, before US Senators to speak out about artists owning the rights to AI deepfakes.
The US Senate Judiciary subcommittee met to discuss a draft bill—the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act (AKA NO FAKES)—that would allow artists to sue anyone who created "digital replicas" of their image, voice or visual likeness without permission. First introduced in October, the bill is federal, meaning it would apply across the US. Currently, artists are only protected via various state laws.
During her five-minute speech, FKA twigs emphasised the importance of AI as a "highly valuable tool," revealing that she's created a deepfake version of herself that can mimic her personality and tone of voice in French, Korean and Japanese. She plans to use her deepfake to handle press and promotional obligations, leaving her free to create more art. The crux, though, is that all this falls under her control.
"What's not acceptable," she added, "is when my art and my identity can simply be taken by a third party and exploited falsely for their own gain without my consent due to the absence of appropriate legislative control and restriction [...] Our careers and our livelihoods are in jeopardy. You have the power to change this and safeguard our future."
FKA twigs was joined at the hearing by several other high-profile industry figures and experts, including Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl, Digital Media Association (DiMA) CEO Graham Davies and University of San Diego professor Lisa P. Ramsey.
"If somebody is uploading fake songs of FKA twigs, for example, and those songs are eating into that revenue pool, then there is less left for her authentic songs," Kyncl said in his testimony. "That's the economic impact of it long term."
The NO FAKES Act also includes a post-mortem clause that would mean artists control their publicity rights up to 70 years after they die. Some people, such as Kyncl, believe these rights should last forever.
Although digital deepfakes—a portmanteau of "deep learning" and "fake"—have existed in some form for decades, the technology has advanced in recent years thanks to AI, leading to a raft of mishaps online as well as products like the ABBA Voyage concerts in London and, perhaps most famously, a fake song by Drake and The Weeknd that inspired the creation of the NO FAKES Act.
Watch Tuesday's Judiciary subcommittee in full, and read FKA twigs's Instagram post in the aftermath.