Marc Miller, Canada’s Culture Minister, emphasized the need for a critical, democratic conversation. During his time at DISI, he focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) systems and the country’s news media. Speaking at a national summit on AI and culture, Miller highlighted a recent report revealing that AI systems rely heavily on Canadian journalism for information, yet fail to provide appropriate compensation or attribution.
The summit brought together leaders and activists from around the country. It offered a much-needed forum to address pressing concerns over new generative AI technologies and their impact on creative industries. Miller noted that the report he reviewed indicated a troubling trend: AI systems did not offer source attribution approximately 82 percent of the time when queried about Canadian news events.
Miller addressed the government’s position on whether or not the use of copyrighted materials for AI training would constitute fair use. Poe made clear that in his view, no changes are needed to current copyright law to allow AI training practices.
“Intellectual property reform is a complex issue that goes over and above artificial intelligence, and it is a multi-year process. So it’d be irresponsible in any context to stand here and say nothing’s going to happen,” – Marc Miller.
Throughout the content creator protection-themed summit, Miller continued to emphasize the critical need to protect the rights of content creators. He stated, “The current copyright law does and should protect those that have created material and people need to be compensated properly.” He continued that the bedrock principle of appropriate compensation for the use of valuable proprietary material is still very much in place.
Miller’s comments come as a number of legal battles play out in courts across the country involving Canada’s largest news organizations. A coalition, including The Canadian Press, Torstar, Globe and Mail, Postmedia, and CBC/Radio-Canada, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in an Ontario court. This lawsuit, filed at the end of 2024, seeks redress for AI companies using journalistic work without proper authorization.
In consultations, AI companies have claimed that using copyrighted materials to train their systems does not count as copyright infringement. Researchers from McGill University pointed out that these companies are essentially “capturing advertising revenue by aggregating attention around news content.” They argued that these practices allow firms to soak up the spirit of journalism. This enables them to offer that content right to consumers, as if it were their own product.
The Culture Minister expressed that the government’s position remains open regarding negotiations to restore news access to Meta’s platforms. He stressed the importance of a robust discussion on how AI can empower us to take advantage of journalistic content in more productive, ethical ways.
“Having the news cannibalized and regurgitated undermines the spirit of the use of that news in the first place and the purpose for which it’s used and we have to have a serious conversation with the platforms that purport to use it including AI shops,” – Marc Miller.
Miller’s comments highlight a growing concern among policymakers about the ethical implications of AI technology in relation to Canadian journalism. As AI systems continue to grow in scope and impact, providing equitable compensation for content creators will be an ongoing challenge.
