How is AI impacting the Creative Industries?
At a packed meeting of the APPG on the Future of Work on 5 June, parliamentarians, union leaders, creative professionals and policy experts addressed one of the most urgent challenges facing the creative industries in the UK: the rapid advance of Generative AI (GenAI) and its consequences for jobs, rights, and the future of human creativity.
The event followed the launch of new research on the impact of GenAI on the Creative Industries from the Institute for the Future of Work, Queen Mary University of London and the Alan Turing Institute; in partnership with Equity, Bectu, the Musicians Union and the Society of Authors. The key findings of the research project, ‘Crafting Responsive Assessments of AI and Tech-Impacted Futures’, presented at the session by project lead Professor David Leslie, paint a picture which is urgent and galvanising.
With over 70 per cent of creative workers concerned that their roles are at risk due to AI, and a staggering 73 per cent believing it is already eroding the quality of creative work, it is clear that action is needed to ensure the UK’s flourishing creative sector is not sacrificed in the name of technological progress.
Lord Jim Knight, APPG Co-Chair, opened the session with reflections on the current parliamentary debate over the Data (Use and Access) Bill, in particular on amendments which concern addressing risks to creative workers’ rights over their intellectual property. Speakers highlighted the dangers of a narrow, ‘growth-only’ mindset that risks cutting the legs off a world-leading sector, undermining both fair remuneration and creative autonomy in the process.
Paul Fleming, General Secretary of Equity, laid out two starkly contrasting visions for the future of creative work. In one, a dystopian landscape shaped by non-unionised, low-rights digital production environments sees creative freelancers offered minimal day rates and stripped of agency—often learning how their work has been used only after the fact, if at all. In the other, a thriving, unionised sector offers sectoral bargaining rights to freelancers and leverages existing data protection tools to push for transparency and fair treatment in the use of their creative outputs.
Nicola Solomon OBE, solicitor and independent consultant to creators, drew attention to long-term pay decline in the writing profession, noting that median earnings for full-time authors dropped from £12,000 in 2006 to just £7,000 in 2022. The call was clear: tech companies must pay for the value they extract, and government must build mechanisms to enforce rights, protect freelancers, and ensure access to fair pensions and benefits.
Musicians’ Union representative Linton Stephens highlighted that the very definition of creativity; a uniquely human trait, was now under threat. He shared stories of musicians finding their entire catalogues used to train AI models without consent, and of creators unknowingly contributing to systems that now displace their work. In the absence of retrospective opt-out mechanisms or fair compensation for buyout contracts, AI becomes a breach of trust and a failure of policy.
Panellist Linton Stephens speaks to the experience of freelance musicians at the APPG session.
Despite the severity of the risks, many speakers resisted a fatalistic outlook. Deborah Williams, Data Governance Coach and Futurist, urged a more balanced and practical approach. She noted the positive uses of AI as a tool for those with disabilities or accessibility issues, and advocated for proactive policies that channel the power of AI into fairer systems. She warned however against the embedding of past injustices into future technologies, noting that the outdated and biased datasets training these tools often reproduce offensive or exclusionary narratives, and particularly so for disabled or marginalised creators.
Throughout the discussion, a shared theme emerged: AI governance cannot be left to copyright law or voluntary tech pledges alone. A whole-of-society approach is needed—one that includes sector-specific protections, proactive labour market planning, and industrial strategies that equip workers for a changing future.
Lessons were also drawn from international examples. Attendees heard about Singapore’s anticipatory workforce policies, where long-term industry futures are mapped, and retraining grants or tax support are used to help sectors transition fairly. Could the UK do the same for its creative industries?
The APPG closed the session with a call to continue cross-party collaboration to secure a creative economy that is dynamic, dignified, and fair. As AI accelerates, the UK must move fast—not to keep pace with technology, but to ensure that rights, creativity, and above all, people, are at the centre of its future.
Read our 'Creative Industries and GenAI Policy Brief', which sets out policy recommendations for regulators to build better governance of GenAI.
Read our 'Good Work Research Report', exploring the new challenges and opportunities of GenAI faced by creative workers through the lens and framework of ‘Good Work’.
Read the 'Executive Summary' of the CREAATIF research project, highlighting key findings and recommendations from this joint research project.