Agenda

Programme Overview

Keynote |  Pawlet Brookes MBE
Founder, CEO and Artistic Director, Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage

The Practical Impact of AI on Academic Research
Matthew Lambert, Head of Copyright, Policy and Assurance, British Library

We are in a time of flux. Since the arrival of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, AI development has moved forward in leaps and bounds, so fast that the regulations to govern it have yet to be written. In the meantime all the stakeholders are implementing their own policies and processes to adapt. In this session, Matt will talk us through the changes and the onward impact they are having on the educational, academic and cultural heritage sectors. 

AI in the UK heritage sector
Dr Mathilde Pavis, Legal Consultant, Pavis Consultancy

Dr Mathilde Pavis discusses what Artificial Intelligence can do for the UK heritage sector, and turns the question on its head to ask what the heritage sector can do for Artificial Intelligence.

The session looks at how Artificial Intelligence is used across the UK heritage sector today, and how organisations can take advantage of Artificial Intelligence to support their work. This presentation draws on case studies from organisations throughout the UK that have used AI technologies in three areas of work: heritage management, visitor experiences and day-to-day operations.

The discussion stresses that, as with any tool, the benefits of Artificial Intelligence can only be accessed if the risks associated with the technology are adequately managed. This means that heritage organisations should carefully plan what, how and when it is appropriate to use Artificial Intelligence, based on their priorities and resources.

Turning the question on its head, the session closes by highlighting an important, much less discussed fact: heritage institutions can play a critical role in AI innovation, as trusted knowledge organisations and the custodians of rich datasets. The heritage holds valuable assets in the form of skills, data, public trust, which are needed for AI innovation to serve the public interest.

The Future of Copyright
Louis Coiffait-Gunn, CEO of CILIP


Louis Coiffait-Gunn, CILIP's new CEO and Naomi Korn will discuss the future of copyright and both the challenges and opportunities AI might bring to rights-holders and users. 

CLA Licensing & Technology Updates
James Bennett, Head of Rightsholder Relations, Copyright Licensing Agency


This session will provide an update on the Copyright Licensing Agency's latest licensing initiatives, including developments around AI and text and data mining.

Lightning Talk | ‘Optimism or anxiety’? Co-creating a copyright literacy strategy for complex contemporary challenges
Timothy Riley, Information Adviser (Copyright and Licensing), University of Aberdeen

Copyright has long been seen as challenging. Today, ever-evolving technology throws up new questions and dilemmas, even for seasoned copyright specialists. Is there any hope then for non-experts grappling with this complexity and uncertainty? How can university students and staff rise to the challenges and opportunities, and engage with copyright issues in the university and beyond?

At the University of Aberdeen, we are meeting this challenge by rolling out an institutional copyright literacy strategy to empower our university community to create and reuse legally and ethically. Our aim is to enable all our staff and students to make informed, risk-aware decisions based on a sound understanding of the fundamentals of copyright law. They should also be able to think critically, question assumptions, and apply their understanding in new and unfamiliar situations. As well as being a key part of individuals’ information and digital competency, this will support key areas of university activity, including teaching, research, and graduate skills and employability.

Find out how we drew on best practice from across the sector and engaged with our community to create a strategy that aligns with our members’ needs and our university’s wider strategic aims. We will look at the steps we took, and our progress so far in embedding the strategy and rolling out a copyright literacy initiative across our university. We will also share some of the challenges we faced, and lessons learned from the project for anyone considering a similar strategy for their own organisation.

Lightning Talk | Copyright guides: Targeted copyright literacy
Cristina Rusu, Copyright and Licensing Manager, Loughborough University 

Lightning Talk | How do we achieve success as Solo Librarians?
Lucy Roper, Information Governance Manager, UCEM

Being a solo librarian or librarian in a small team with limited help can be daunting. Librarianship is multi-faceted, and while plenty of books cover library work in detail, few provide a single point of reference from the perspective of a solo librarian who must juggle multiple tasks at one time and deal with all aspects of library provision on their own.

AI is creeping increasingly into our lives, and libraries have undoubtedly witnessed a rapid transformation due to AI. As we strive for continual improvement, we must keep abreast of the latest developments and follow the ever-changing library landscapes and popularity of information systems and services, online library tools and technological advancements.

I therefore, took it upon myself to write a practical handbook providing a one-stop-shop with accompanying time-saving templates (easily downloadable via the eBook version and companion website) that can be adapted to help aid the daily activities and processes (including the effective use of copyrighted material and undertaking yearly copyright reporting) often faced by those working in information, knowledge, libraries and related disciplines.

I follow the year in the life of a solo librarian, providing a yearly planner and timeline of activities, with supporting guidance to aid each step of the way. This guidance can then be applied, adapted and tailored to other working practices. In this lightning talk, I will share the foundations of the book, identify some of the lessons I have learned, and provide examples of the types of guidance available.  

Lightning Talk | Navigating Ownership of AI Creations in Libraries
Sofia Carroll, Information Governance Manager, Naomi Korn Associates

This session will explore how libraries can manage copyright attributions where AI has produced the work in question. The talk will cover issues around ownership, AI’s legal status and suggest a code of practice for libraries to accommodate AI-generated content in their resources.

The talk will explain the current legal difficulties of treating AI as a content owner for the purposes of copyright law. This will be done with reference to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which is clear that the owner is a ‘person’, and with reference to a recent case about patent ownership as a general intellectual property example. It will lay out an idea about AI having its own legal personality like companies, to expand attendee's knowledge about the possibilities of accommodating AI into the current legal framework.

A suggested code of practice or policy to accommodate AI-created work can include: definition, ownership, attribution, awareness and transparency, recommended use.

The focus on ownership is key and to remain complaint, professionals ought to go behind the AI mind to determine the real author with as much certainty as possible. Regarding attribution, they can credit the AI tool, platform, developer and human involved, if at all. The organisation should also be transparent, create and signpost new sections in their libraries specifically for AI. Finally, the code can highlight beneficial use to the library’s user base and describe that work to all staff, so it can be prioritised for review and referencing.

As an example, the presentation will include an academic paper written by ChatGPT with user prompts: Perlman, Andrew, The Implications of ChatGPT for Legal Services and Society (December 5, 2022). Suffolk University Law School Research Paper No. 22-14, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4294197. 

Panel Discussion | New Horizons: Attack of the Bots
Chaired by Naomi Korn, CEO Naomi Korn Associates

This closing session will invite our panel of speakers to consider, collectively, the impact of emerging technologies on copyright, particularly within the contexts of libraries, universities and cultural heritage organisations.

We will be inviting advance questions from attendees to help shape the discussion, and there will be an opportunity for a live audience Q&A at the end of the session, also.

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Professional Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB)

The PKSB represents a full set of knowledge and skills used within the library, archives, records, knowledge and information management professions. You can use the PKSB as a framework for identifying any skills gaps to help you plan and develop for your career. The following are elements of the PKSB that relate to this event:

4.3 - Information Governance and Compliance -  Copyright, intellectual property and licensing
12.5 - Strategy, Planning and Management - Legal compliance