Photo/Illutration From left: Yasuhiko Yamada, professor emeritus at Mie University, actress Megumi Morisaki, who heads the Arts Workers Japan Association, and film director Koji Fukada hold a news conference in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on May 8. (Masato Nishida)

An entertainment industry group urged the government to take legislative action to protect the rights and livelihoods of artists from generative artificial intelligence.

Led by actress Megumi Morisaki, the Arts Workers Japan Association, which consists of actors, musicians and other artists, shared its concerns about job losses in the industry at a news conference in Tokyo on May 8.

“I heard that (AI) can scan our appearances and movements in just a few days of shooting, and then synthesize them into any age and gender,” an association member quoted an actor as saying. “If (AI) continues to advance, there will be no demand for us.”

Lawyer Yamato Sato submitted a written document to the government, calling for legal stipulations that clearly define and protect performers’ rights regarding their appearances, voices and movements.

The document also stresses the need for legislation to ensure that performers receive proper compensation when AI uses their data to generate content.

“I’m concerned that instability will accelerate because actors, staff and directors mostly work on a freelance basis in the film industry,” film director Koji Fukada said about advances in AI.

The music industry is also concerned about the impact that AI could have on musicians.

In March, the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers hosted a symposium on AI-generated music and copyright issues.

Music producer Ryosuke Imai acknowledged the inevitable narrowing of the gap between humans and AI.

“An AI that can perfectly copy me could be used by others to create music just like I’ve made,” he said. “Depending on the learning speed, the AI (that copies me) could even surpass my capabilities.”

Research on automatic composition has been ongoing for many years in the music world.

It is now common for AI to assist creators. For example, music makers often use apps to find rhyming words when writing lyrics.

Hitoshi Matsubara, a leading AI researcher and professor at the University of Tokyo, noted that measures are being discussed to protect copyrighted art from AI generators.

“As allowing AI to learn paintings without permission becomes an issue, it is natural that artists in other fields have concerns,” Matsubara said.

“Although the current performance of AI that generates videos and music is still low, human-created works are indispensable in the early developmental stages of generative AI,” he said. “It is necessary to advance development while ensuring copyright holders are satisfied.”

(This article was written by Momoko Jingu, Ryo Jozuka and Keita Mano.)

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