AI copyright debate sharpens as senator defends artists and questions data-centre trade-offs

Liberal senator Andrew McLachlan has urged both major parties to protect artists' property rights as the federal government develops its AI policy package. His comments put copyright compensation and environmental costs alongside the promised investment benefits of artificial intelligence. A possible change to copyright law remains a policy debate, not an announced blanket permission for technology companies to use creative work.

McLachlan argued that the value of art and the principle of fair payment should not be traded away for corporate investment. He said AI offered important opportunities, but any costs and compromises needed to be explicit. He also questioned whether one industry-wide compensation arrangement could fairly recognise each artist's rights, arguing that individual circumstances mattered.

The government's developing package covers data centres, online safety, energy and economic benefits as well as copyright. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said using creative work without paying its creators would be theft. Some AI companies say existing licensing arrangements are too difficult and want legal certainty before investing. Anthropic has proposed an opt-out system, under which material could be collected unless a rights holder objected. That is a company proposal, not the current law.

Recording-industry representatives have warned against weakening existing protections. Coalition senators Ross Cadell and Michaelia Cash have supported concerns that compulsory access to copyrighted work could raise constitutional property-acquisition questions. McLachlan likewise said any compulsory acquisition should be exceptional and compensated fairly. Whether a particular future law would breach the Constitution is not settled by those political arguments.

The main parties broadly support attracting AI investment. Opposition spokespeople Jonno Duniam and Aaron Violi have favoured a constructive, multiparty approach, while independent senator David Pocock has criticised their alignment. McLachlan also said biodiversity should not be sacrificed to new data centres and called for sustainable domestic AI capability. His intervention brings internal Coalition differences into a debate often presented as a cross-party agreement.

Labor has announced plans for an AI safety regulator and six core obligations for AI companies following a breach involving government sites and OpenAI. The broader package is expected before year-end. Until its text is released, the practical balance between licensing, creator payment, safety duties, electricity use and conservation remains to be tested against the actual proposals.