Crucial for ad makers to take permission to use work as AI input: Asci

In a white paper with Khaitan & Co, Asci on Tuesday said that the biggest risk of using generative AI by advertisers is copyright and ownership infringement

Advertisers using generative artificial intelligence (AI) must obtain licenses and permissions for the work that is being used as inputs, the Advertising Standards Council of India (Asci) said on Tuesday.

In a white paper titled "Generative AI and Advertising", released with Khaitan & Co, Asci said that it is also crucial to ensure that any material used as inputs has the necessary authorisations for commercial use.

The white paper highlighted six risks of using AI in the advertising industry and the current legal provisions under which infringements are applicable.

Talking to Business Standard, Manisha Kapoor, chief executive officer (CEO) and secretary general at Asci said that the biggest risk is regarding the copyright and ownership of the work that is produced.  

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"AI uses learnings from work that already exists on the internet. It is picking up that and producing its own interpretation of that. So, one question is, is there any legal or copyright implication? Is it in that sense 'original' work," she said.

She added that there is also a risk of ownership of the produced content if two people get similar prompts from generative AI.

"Therefore, how do you make sure that the work that has produced can be protected reasonably," she said.

Manisha also highlighted that there is a risk for consumers too. "Disclosures are important. Consumers should be able to make an informed decision by knowing who they are interacting with."

The other threats mentioned in the white paper are the display of prohibited content in AI-generated ads, breach of privacy, biases in AI models as well as a potential displacement of creative labour.

The suggestions in the paper stated that advertisers must monitor AI tools closely to make sure that private information or prohibited content is not fed into for output.

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Moreover, it also suggested that there must be upskilling of human labour to avoid displacement by AI.  

Call for regulations

Tanu Banerjee, partner at Khaitan & Co told Business Standard that there are several provisions in India's current legal framework that prevent copyright infringement and protect privacy.

These include the Trade Marks Act of 1999, the Information Technology Act of 2000, and the Copyright Act of 1957.

Tanu, however, added that these remedies are "completely agnostic" of whether the ads are created by humans or AI and there is a need for wider regulations.

"We can lean on the existing principles meanwhile they evolve. But having a larger framework that focuses on AI and its issues will really help," she said.  

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Adding to this, Manisha said, "The points that we have made in the white paper can be used as stepping stones for self-regulation or larger regulations in advertising and branding."