Cambridge University Press joins creative industries coalition on responsible AI
Cambridge University Press & Assessment has become one of the founding members of a new international coalition aimed at promoting responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence across the creative industries.
The organisation has joined the Alliance for Responsible Innovation in the Arts & Media (ARIAM), a newly established coalition bringing together content creators, publishers, broadcasters and media organisations to advocate for greater accountability, transparency and safety in AI development.
Other founding signatories include The Walt Disney Company, BBC, ITV, The New York Times, Condé Nast, The Financial Times, Reach plc, Adobe and Wiley.
Headquartered in Los Angeles and operating internationally, ARIAM is led by Victoria Furniss, a former Netflix and Warner Bros executive and current chief executive of The Birdella Group. Furniss said: “ARIAM’s goal is not to slow AI down, but to make sure the foundation is strong enough to support what comes next.
“ARIAM is a first-of-its-kind cross-content sector coalition seeking to ensure that AI amplifies human creativity, respects the rule of law, and safeguards consumers. AI developers and content creators have a genuine opportunity to ensure that creativity and innovation both flourish.”
The coalition’s members argue that the rapid development of generative AI is creating significant challenges for creative industries, with wider implications for economies, culture and society. Among ARIAM’s objectives is a push for AI governance frameworks that embed accountability, transparency and safety from the outset, rather than relying on regulatory intervention after harms have emerged.
Catie Sheret, general counsel at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, said: “If we allow big tech to ride roughshod over IP rights, the arts, sciences and global economy will suffer. Without high-quality content, AI development will stall. We can win this fight. Coalitions have power – we saw this when the UK government stopped short of giving tech companies free access to creative content.
“By bringing together global stakeholders from film, television, journalism and publishing, ARIAM will put content creators in a stronger position to ensure their rights are properly protected.”
The announcement comes as publishers and other content owners continue to seek stronger protections for copyrighted material used in the training and development of AI systems, with debates over licensing, transparency and intellectual property rights intensifying across multiple jurisdictions.