EXCLUSIVE: UK government is embroiled in controversy over flagship AI training hub
Course not for UK used 'without permission' says e-learning firm
CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS an online training course on AI and intellectual property offered by the UK government as part of a flagship AI initiative. The training module on its £4.2 million AI Skills Hub wrongly gave British businesses and workers advice based on US copyright laws rather than those that apply in the UK. Tonight, in a major twist, the provider of the course accused the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) of using it “without permission”, and said it had never been intended for UK audiences.
The AI Skills Hub said the one-hour course — developed by London-based e-learning provider VinciWorks — would give attendees “a basic understanding of legal thought around IP rights”:
Part way through the narrated module a page listing frequent IP challenges introduced learners to the concept of ‘fair use’, describing it as a “legal doctrine that permits the limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, commentary, parody, or education”. The fair use doctrine is contained in the US Copyright Act, but has no relevance in the UK. The VinciWorks page went on to state that “AI models may generate content that falls within the realm of fair use”. That’s correct in the US, but not in the UK.
Further in the course another page said “lawmakers, content creators and IP lawyers have sparred over countless cases of fair use over the years” without saying that those disputes have only taken place in the US where the fair use doctrine is enshrined in law. A pop-up then explained the four factors that courts consider when deciding fair use — purpose and character; nature of the copyrighted work; the amount used; and the effect on the market. Again, those courts are in the US where the US Copyright Act applies, and not in the UK.
This afternoon Charting Gen AI asked DSIT why a course aimed at UK adults and promoted as part of a drive to boost AI skills was referring to fair use, a legal doctrine that doesn’t exist in the UK. Shortly afterwards the course disappeared from the AI Skills Hub and was replaced with a “page does not exist” apology:
While we waited for DSIT to reply Charting approached VinciWorks asking what a course discussing fair use was doing on a UK government website. Marketing chief Shmuli Goldberg thanked Charting Gen AI for raising the issue. “We take your concerns very seriously and have investigated the course material and the AI Skills Hub website’s right to use our training courses,” said Goldberg.
“VinciWorks is not associated with the AI Skills Hub in any way. We have no contractual arrangement with the site and were not consulted before our materials were posted and linked from there.” Goldberg said the course had been “written for a global audience, not for the UK” and acknowledged that “the wording in the training could more clearly explain that fair use is a US doctrine rather than a global concept, and we have updated the module with that clarification”. Goldberg added:
“We understand that having our module linked from a website targeted exclusively to UK audiences is misleading and we regret that the website owners used our materials without permission in this way.”
Charting put Goldberg’s comments to DSIT. We asked who was responsible for the AI Skills Hub: DSIT, or PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) which operates the site having won a £4.2 million tender last year. We also asked if DSIT reviewed any of the content before the AI Skills Hub went live, and what DSIT would be saying to VinciWorks. Tonight in a brief statement a DSIT spokesperson said: “We take the accuracy and relevance of all content on the AI Skills Hub seriously. The course has been temporarily removed until further notice while it is reviewed in line with our framework.”
Ethical training warrior Ed Newton-Rex first spotted the course on the AI Skills Hub early this morning. Commenting on the furore he told Charting: “It’s shocking enough that there was only one course that mentioned IP concerns on the AI Skills Hub. I was even more shocked that it misrepresented them in the context of British law. But honestly, it’s laughably shocking that it turns out that the government didn’t have the right to use this IP in the first place. I’m grateful to Charting Gen AI for digging into this and revealing it.”
COMMENT
✨What a ‘you couldn’t make it up’ mess. And what timing, with concerns running high about what the UK government will finally say when it reports on AI and copyright in March. The list of bodies behind the AI Skills Hub were clearly clueless about the contents of the course. How VinciWorks’ module ended up being part of its offer without consent now needs to be investigated. After all, VinciWorks’ IP rights have been infringed and its reputation damaged by someone thinking they have the freedom to use its materials without asking. Publishers and creators are looking to the UK government to protect them from Big Tech. They don’t expect department officials to ape its behaviour.
▪️As ever, Charting Gen AI’s Weekly Newsletter on Friday will have full coverage of the week’s developments. Subscribe now so you don’t miss it!
Great story, Graham. Well done!
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. AI people jawing about misuse of their intellectual property…
Was just thinking today that if OpenAI and its fellow sewer-dwellers really believe there’s no such thing as IP, they’d make 100% of their code available. Hahahahaha.