"I Don't Remember Recording That" - How Creators Can Protect And Monetize Their Work In The Era Of AI

By Jules Dudko, Founder and CEO of FrequenC

AI is everywhere. Creatives are concerned about ownership and authenticity of their work, both in terms of deep fakes and algorithm training. While no regulations exist for the commercial use of deep fakes, blockchain technologies offer an ‘out’ for impacted creators. Artists can use blockchain transactions and decentralized identities to authenticate their work and gain new revenue streams, no matter where their work ends up. 

When French DJ David Guetta announced a new collab with Eminem, the music industry wasn’t shocked. That is, until they learned it wasn’t a collaboration at all. Using AI technology, Guetta created a voice track made to sound like Eminem. The track “sang” a verse in his song and even played to live audiences. Blurred lines like these raise questions about deep fakes and redefining ownership of work and authenticity in the creative industry.

It’s not just the outcome of AI generators causing problems–it’s the generators themselves. How do tools like ChatGPT learn how to talk like a human? They scan photos, soundtracks, and texts from across the internet, ignoring copyrights and paid content. Here’s an example recently covered in WIRED, where voice narrators at Findaway Voices raised concerns that the company had signed their voices away to Apple to train AI audiobook narrators. See the problem? Big tech companies exploit professionals to build technology that will replace them. What’s even more upsetting is that those AI voices will partially be the voice of AI, so, technically, a form of a deep fake.

You’re probably asking yourself - how is this even legal? Shouldn’t there be some sort of copyright or integrity laws protecting against unauthorized use of one’s voice, style, and image? Well, surprisingly (or maybe not), there aren’t. Deep fake laws only apply to their use in pornography or impersonating politicians. No regulations exist for commercial purposes. What’s more, according to News Atlas, under US law, you can create deep fakes and use them to endorse products without any legal consequences. None. You don’t have to tell anyone that it’s fake, and you’re still under the complete protection of copyright law. Unless you’re Keanu Reeves and your legal team has been living in the future, this will affect you.

For Web2, gathering and taking advantage of internet data is nothing new. That doesn’t mean it’s okay. Web3 and the blockchain are here to support and protect creatives, especially where legislators and big tech do not. 

Using blockchain for authentication

Better authentication is the first and easiest way to avoid deep fakes impersonating an artist's work. Blockchain provides a powerful proof of ownership–think Banksy and Pest Control certificates but in the form of an NFT smart contract accompanying an artwork. An artist (even if they decide to remain anonymous) will use their wallet to record their work on the blockchain, including all art elements. Because the history of all transactions is easily visible on the blockchain and cannot be changed, work verified by the artist will mean it is really their own. Everything else needs further scrutiny. 

Decentralized identities must become the new digital standard

Blockchain-backed transactions provide concrete ownership and immediate recognition in the digital world. These decentralized identities ensure trust and verification, guaranteeing the authenticity of the artwork, owner and creator. If creators begin using decentralized IDs to verify their work on the blockchain, they can combat deep fakes and stolen identities. However, this isn’t just up to the artists themselves - the entire digital ecosystem must adapt to use Web3 for verification:

• Smart contracts need to contain code for approving AI integrations that can be easily forked before recorded on-chain.

• Social media platforms must enable Web3 verification mechanisms - such as Twitter’s profile picture verification.

• Websites and blogs must be owned by individuals (wallets) vs servers.

• Identities in the form of NFT smart contracts and ENS (or similar) names must become the new standard for identity verification.

Blockchain Royalties: The new revenue stream for creators

‘Locking’ and verifying an artist's work using web3 tech doesn’t mean you can’t seek inspiration from others. That’s part of the beauty of the art world. While blockchain and decentralized IDs can drastically reduce the amount of deep fake content created by malicious actors, they also give creators more control over their work. Artists can unlock new revenue streams by repurposing their work. 

Let’s circle back to the audiobook example from before. Ideally, narrators could register their voices on the blockchain so that no one can use them for commercial purposes without compensating the artist. This would make it much harder for data thieves to steal work. Any attempt to do so would result in legal consequences for violating the creator's rights to the registered asset, whether a voice track, image, or video. In an ideal world, an AI audiobook narration studio could record its own repurposed voices as an additional blockchain entry, delivering royalties to the contributing creator with each sale.

Is this really possible?

This may sound great to you, but I don’t blame you for wondering: is this possible? Yes, it is! Blockchain is by no means a silver bullet solution to the problem of deep fakes and creator rights. It does, however, provide a much-needed layer of protection and verification. On the technical level, we’re still a few steps away from preventing illicit deep fake creation. 

Artificial intelligence founders and developers will need to be part of these efforts. We will need their support to build blockchain-backed transparent transactions on top of their systems. End-to-end transactions, with creator approval on each end, are a must. This is much like the function of NFT royalties we see today. 

We’ll need to spread the word about this tech to prepare society for adoption. The more creators, collectors, and consumers become familiar with web3 and its possibilities, the better. Let’s build a more secure and transparent future of the internet, together.