Cate Blanchett launches a record to stop AI abuses. See here

A actress Cate Blanchett released today the human consent record of RSL Media, a free site created to allow anyone to protect his name, face or voice from unauthorized use by artificial intelligence services.

“In the Age of Artificial Intelligence [IA], its identity is its intellectual property and everyone has the right to decide how the AI can or cannot use it,” said RSL Media’s actress, producer and co-founder, at the presentation session held at the European Parliament in Brussels, accompanied by the company’s executive director, Nikki Hexum, and MEP Eva Maydell.

The Human Consent Register, in its original name, is accessible here.

According to the actress, “RSL’s free human consent record Media gives everyone a voice and a way to act in relation to AI permissions, helping to preserve and protect confidence in the whole evolving AI panorama.”.

This register allows any individual to record the elements that constitute his/her identity and to authorise or deny his/her use by AI systems, including his/her name, image or voice.

In a second phase, the site will also allow users to protect their registered creations and trademarks.

In January, Cate Blanchett signed an open letter, with over 800 artists, accusing the big AI companies of “theft”.

The executive director and co-founder of RSL Media, Nikki Hexum, stressed in the session that “consent is a human right”. “A person should be able to say: ‘This is me, this is what I allow, this is what I do not allow and this is the safe way to contact me if you need to contact me’.

“ Public registration is a practical tool that offers people a space to make their choices clear,” Hexum said. “We are proud to launch it today in the European Parliament, which is leading the way in digital rights and responsible use of the AI.”.

MEPs Eva Maydell (PPE) considered the register “a tool that makes rights transparent, strengthens confidence and places human creativity at the heart of technological progress”.

The co-founder of Flawless Scott Mann, and one of the executive directors of the company that develops AI tools for audiovisual production, also present at the session, recalled that “AI tools should increase human creativity, not replace it, but for that to happen, consent needs to be clear, accessible and actionable”, which he recognizes in the application of RSL Media.

This company aims to be available to private individuals, but also to intermediaries, as agents or managers of artists.

The system, supported by Creative Artists Agency, allows you to choose three levels of consent for each recorded item: green (unrestricted permission), yellow (conditional use) and red (prohibition).

In view of these definitions, it is up to the AI platforms to verify whether the content they wish to use is protected or not, which in principle is not a systematic legal obligation in most jurisdictions.

The public register of RSL Media is the first designed to make consent detectable and actionable.

Its official release, which also featured director Steven Soderbergh, brought together business and political leaders from the technology, music and entertainment sectors.