Youāre a writer.
You are, or you wouldnāt be here reading this.
So I have a question for you today: how do you feel about big tech AI companies stealing your work?
Not good, right?
If youāre in the UK, please read on ā then take action.
We have just four more days to respond to the government consultation on their proposed law to allow AI companies to do what they want.
Right now, AI companies have to obtain permission from copyright holders before they use our work. But the government is proposing to overturn these copyright laws, which protects us and our ability to earn a living from our work.
The proposal is that instead of AI companies asking each creative for permission, instead each of us has to somehow discover every single tech company that has decided to feed our work to the algorithm and opt out AFTER the fact.
The very idea of that feels absolutely overwhelming. I wouldnāt even know where to start, and doing it would be a full time job. Itās essentially unworkable.
And once the AI has already been trained on our work? Well, that horse has bolted. What are they going to do then ā trash their AIs?
The onus should be on AI companies to get permission for stuff they want to use.
THE SAME WAY WE DO WHEN WE QUOTE OTHER PEOPLEāS WORK OR OTHERWISE WANT TO USE IT.
The government should be protecting our rights and promoting human-centred creation, instead of taking backhanders from billionaire tech industry leaders in exchange for political favours.
Because make no mistake, that is what this is.
This isnāt just about AI and creativity.
This is about a much larger issue of money in politics: how itās used, how power is wielded, and who benefits.
The situation in America right now, with essentially a fascist dictator in charge and a bunch of billionaires standing behind him, is the end-game of this. Thatās why weāre there. Thatās why the Doomsday Clock has ticked down to 89 seconds to midnight.
This isnāt trivial and it isnāt an overreaction, itās insidious and itās creeping fascism. There are voices out there telling us weāre overreacting, the same way they did when Roe v Wade was in danger of being overturned. We werenāt overreacting. Weāre still not.
If youāre wondering why you havenāt heard about this from āofficialā news sources, thatās by design. They donāt want us to know or do anything. And theyāve made it deliberately difficult to respond to the consultation.
So. What can we do?
Because I am not a fan of āraising awarenessā just for the sake of being aware and overwhelmed. Fuck that.
Here is exactly what you can do:
- āRead about it hereĀ in more detail.
- āEmail your MP using this linkĀ and template letter. Itāll take you 30 seconds.
- Sign the open letter objecting to the proposed law changeĀ here.
- āRespond to the consultationĀ using answers prepared by experts in this area (the consultation was deliberately confusing and difficult to respond to, but this makes it easy).
If you have 15 minutes in the next few days ā before Tuesday February 25 ā you have time to do these things. Please do because it does make a difference.
Iāve done it because I want to protect my work and the work of my brilliant clients, friends, colleagues, and peers.
Okay. Onwards to the Friday Goodie Bag, which is filled with my intellectual property, and other peopleās intellectual property, and should be protected.
This Friday, I have gathered for you the following sweet treats:
My brilliant friendās new podcast MAD
Jocelyn Brady, my brilliant brain-bending storytelling friend, has teamed up with Sean Anthony Guillory, PhD and expert in modern warfare (seriously there are things he canāt talk about), to create the MAD podcast: Mutually Assured Distraction.
I can think of few things more important right now than where our attention is being direction, by whom, how, and why. Warfare isnāt what it used to be, and weāre all in it. You can listen to the first episode here.
This OnlyFans star who took her earnings and made the world better
The patriarchy loves adult entertainment when itās for the male gaze only. But what about when a woman takes her Ā£100k a month OnlyFans earnings, which she started doing to literally feed her kids, and pours it into affordable housing for her area?
Well, people who otherwise were at risk of homelessness get housed, and a lot of mediocre white dudes get angry.
John Amaechi OBE on why āwokeā isnāt the problem
Amaechi wrote a great piece about the Financial Timesā analysis of āwhere woke went wrongā ā and how it (unsurprisingly) misses a crucial point:
āWhatās often framed as mere political polarisation actually represents a fundamental disagreement about human rights and dignity.ā
Those of us who have been paying attention understand this. Words matter: how theyāre used, misused, and twisted. How theyāre weaponised in order to hide the real issue.
This Instagram thread of womany joy
Someone on TikTok asked girlies what their whimsical little habits are, little things that bring them joy or make their world a little better, and someone else compiled a load of their answers, and itās just one of the nicest things Iāve seen for a while.
One of my faves, and one I shall implement because the way I talk to myself is horrific, is: āIf I want to have negative thoughts about myself I have to think them in a Cockney accent.ā
āRead it here and smile and smile. Then please share your whimsical little habits with me.
This satire on the current state of things because satire is crucial
One of the best weapons against fascism is humour because if thereās one thing fascist billionaires hate, itās people laughing at them. And even more, people who are more intelligent than them.
So support your comedians, your artists, your writers, because thatās where the revolution lives.
Also itās funny. Check this.
What Iām reading
Iām currently reading The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, which I have never read before. Iāve never read any film noir detective type stuff. I wasnāt sure what to expect, but Iām enjoying it! Itās very of its time (dated in places of course, being from the 1930s), but it also feels quite ahead of its time in terms of wit and some of the attitudes.
Plot? A bit baffling tbh. It kind of finishes, then starts up again.
But the writing is wonderful.
What Iām writing
Every morning, for at least 10 minutes, Iām doing a creative writing exercise from the comedy writing course Iām taking part in. Iāve already generated so much content for future stand-up shows, for talks, for emails, for essays.
Hereās one for you, for free, courtesy of my teacher Logan Murray:
The Social Sociopath: take an inane small talk phrase and subvert it.
Something like: We must do this again sometime. Just not together.
Have fun!
Word of the week
Cerulean.
Itās the colour of the blue, blue sky and the blue, blue sea. And itās just a lovely word to have in your mouth.
Quote of the week
āHow to stop time: kiss. How to travel in time: read. How to escape time: music. How to feel time: write. How to release time: breathe.ā ā Matt Haig
Have a wonderful weekend. And remember to fight the governmentās AI proposal. It will take you less than 30 minutes.
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