Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of artificial intelligence on the publishing industry; and what steps his Department is taking to help safeguard the sector from potential risks associated with its use.

This Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the UK’s publishing sector - one of our most successful and long-standing creative industries, contributing over £11 billion to the economy.

The Government is preparing to publish the Report and Impact Assessment required by Sections 135 and 136 of the D(UA) Act.

This Impact Assessment will include an assessment of each of the options put forward in the government’s consultation on copyright and AI, including the economic impact of each option on copyright owners and AI developers. This will include the publishing sector.

In the meantime, the Secretaries of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have jointly chaired three meetings with representatives of the creative and AI sectors.

We’re also convening expert working groups and parliamentary working groups as we consider all options.

We are dedicated to protecting our world-leading creative industries and ensuring they continue to thrive in the age of AI.