Tech firms should pay the creators whose work they use

‘It is creators’ work that attracts people to technology, sustains their engagement and drives innovation.’ An anti-AI protest in New York last week. Photograph: Olga Fedorova/EPA

Anthropic’s proposal (AI firm Anthropic to commit 5% of shares to fund for ‘public good’, 19 October) raises an important question: who should benefit from technological progress? Before pledging money for the public good, AI companies such as Anthropic should first pay the creators whose work they use.

Device manufacturers have a separate responsibility under the same principle: creators should share in the value their work generates. Smartphones, computers and other devices enable creative work to be copied and stored, yet UK creators receive no private-copying payments, unlike their counterparts in more than 40 other countries.