AI firms are ‘scraping the value’ from UK’s £125bn creative industries, says Channel 4 boss

Channel 4’s Alex Mahon told MPs: ‘The creative industries account for 6% of the UK’s GVA and is growing 1.5 times faster than other sectors.’ Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

The chief executive of Channel 4 said that artificial intelligence companies are “scraping the value” out of the UK’s £125bn creative industries, and urged the government to take action.

Alex Mahon told MPs that if the government pursues its proposed plan to give AI companies access to creative works unless the copyright holder opts out, it would put the UK creative industries in a “dangerous position”.