Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546054
he unofficial Silicon Valley motto of "move fast and break things" may be an inspirational rallying cry for innovation, but it cannot apply to the fabric of society itself. It is high time our legislative bodies acknowledge the danger of that motivation and respond in kind, as we are amidst an historically unparalleled technological revolution. Art is a process, not simply a product. Be it writing, filmmaking, composing music, or countless other creative pursuits, the artistic process is integral to bringing a spark of inspiration to life. In the pursuit of creativity, the artist overcomes struggles, learns many lessons, makes innumerable choices, and ultimately creates a product of human expression unique to their experience. It may start with innate talent, but any artistic undertaking requires diligence, discipline, endurance, creativity, and patience. This process builds character, inspires growth, and is essential to an individual or group's advancement in a creative field. Having this reduced to a "prompt" is an indignity to all creatives of the past, present, and future. If we, as a society, value the arts and human creativity, we must offer protection to those who dedicate their lives to these endeavors. Legislative action is mandatory to secure the necessary protections. For clarity, this article focuses on prompt-driven Generative AI with regard to the suggested course of action below. Prompt-driven Generative AI refers to outputs or assets in which the AI engine, not a human author, generates the specifics and details of the expression (e.g., video, audio, music, images) based on natural language input. It does not refer to generative AI tools used to modify or enhance pre- existing human-authored creative materials. Preserving the value of human creativity is not as difficult as it would seem. I propose that the following two provisions be the framework of legislation for the protection of artists: 1. Legislation prohibiting prompt-driven outputs or assets of Generative AI models, and whole works that contain prompt- driven outputs or assets of Generative AI models as any part of said whole, from being copyrighted. 2. Legislation stating that all prompt-driven Generative AI outputs, assets, and derivatives need to be clearly labeled as such: Visibly - pictures, images, and videos Audibly - songs, scores, sound effects/design Metadata - trackable for ALL Generative AI outputs A law, or laws, built upon these foundational principles, immediately protects human creativity by disallowing: • prompting a song into existence and profiting from it Saving the Arts From Generative AI: A PATH FORWARD T 24 M PS E . O R G