Speeches by Frith.

“A happy new year to you, Madam Deputy Speaker. If the House will indulge me briefly, may I begin by wishing my grandmother well? She had a fall last night and broke two of her ribs. She is doing okay, but at 98 she may need a little longer in hospital that I, her eldest grandson, might have needed—although that is not …”

“Can the Minister clarify the difference between his term “rights reservation” and previous reports of the Government’s preference for an opt-out system? Those systems have already been called out and considered unjust by our creators. There are AI leaders who recognise the need for fair licensing. What assurances can t…”

“Within the conversation that we are having about AI, we sense that the US and Europe have been faster in getting their laws together. The Secretary of State’s view was that it was too blunt an instrument in some instances in Europe. Are we slightly behind the curve on this?”

“Do you hope that we will keep the divergence between our laws and the US state of play, and that if we seek to protect the workforce that the US laws do, we need to have different guidance when—”

“That is great. Nick, you talked about unintendeds and wanting to work with us. As we develop the conversation, it feels very much like you are trying to be the honest broker, but also slightly reporting from the frontline on the developments—both the good stuff that we should seize and the opportunity that we will come…”

“You had better get a move on if you are going.”

“Thank you, Chair. I should declare an interest: my wife is a jobbing actor and has done voiceover work as well, which she will be pleased to have had an advert for here, I am sure. It is impressive to see you wrestling with the real issues and—by your word, Nick—not screwing over the sector that you are working within.…”

“Within the conversation that we are having about AI, we sense that the US and Europe have been faster in getting their laws together. The Secretary of State’s view was that it was too blunt an instrument in some instances in Europe. Are we slightly behind the curve on this?”

“Do you hope that we will keep the divergence between our laws and the US state of play, and that if we seek to protect the workforce that the US laws do, we need to have different guidance when—”

“You had better get a move on if you are going.”

“That is great. Nick, you talked about unintendeds and wanting to work with us. As we develop the conversation, it feels very much like you are trying to be the honest broker, but also slightly reporting from the frontline on the developments—both the good stuff that we should seize and the opportunity that we will come…”

“Thank you, Chair. I should declare an interest: my wife is a jobbing actor and has done voiceover work as well, which she will be pleased to have had an advert for here, I am sure. It is impressive to see you wrestling with the real issues and—by your word, Nick—not screwing over the sector that you are working within.…”

“So would the Bill have within its purview the removal of the ownership rights of the rogue owner—if proven rogue, to basically have that club taken off them?”

“I appreciate that; that is good counsel. I would just say that when it comes to the brass tacks of it, for the creatives it is a pretty straightforward in or out.”

“My final point, or rather my question, is that you have not said whether opt-in or opt-out is your preference and you have not given us any clarity on when, other than imminent. I am sensing it is not 2024, but can we expect it before Easter?”

“Before Christmas?”

“This year?”

“When will that consultation be?”

“Is there a risk, though, that one Department is clearly motivated—or should be—by the opt-in argument and the other is motivated by the opt-out, with Chris Bryant in the middle? How do you achieve that balance? It is a pretty binary argument that the creatives are making about what we need here.”

“We talked at the beginning about the risk register the Department has. For creatives, the top of that risk register is the threat posed by artificial intelligence and a Government attracted by and to the shiny thing on the hill at the expense of what we all have, what we all enjoy and everything else now. They see it p…”