• Elton John condemns UK plans to allow AI training on music without artist recompense.
• The government proposal mandates creators to opt-out to protect their work.
• Industry leaders warn it will jeopardize the future of young artists.
• The British government aims to balance AI development with creator rights.

Elton John has firmly criticized the UK government for its proposal allowing technology firms to train artificial intelligence models on the UK's music and other creative outputs without providing sufficient recompense. He describes this as "committing theft," arguing that it undermines the work of artists who deserve proper compensation for their creations. This controversy arises as creative industries worldwide wrestle with the implications of AI that generates new content based on existing works, according to Channel News Asia, Reuters, Bangkok Post, and Bangkok Post.

The UK government's initiative, pushed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer aiming to establish the country as an AI superpower, proposes to ease copyright laws so developers can utilize any material to which they have legal access. This means creators would need to opt-out proactively to prevent their works from being used, which many artists view as burdensome and inequitable. John and other prominent figures in the music industry, including Paul McCartney and Ed Sheeran, have voiced strong disapproval, stating that this policy makes it more difficult for emerging artists to sustain a livelihood in creative fields, according to Channel News Asia, Reuters, and Bangkok Post.