Experts debate AI’s impact on creativity and intellectual property at seminar in Bardo

Tunis: Cultural and artistic creativity is closely linked to human consciousness," emphasised participants in a seminar titled "Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property," held on June 4-5 at the 'Centre des Arts, de la Culture et des Lettres Ksar Saïd' in Bardo.Participants argued that content created with artificial intelligence (AI) does not rise to the level of true creativity, despite its aesthetic appeal. They acknowledged that the use of AI in the artistic domain "paves the way for intellectual property violations".This seminar was initiated by the Tunisian Organisation of Copyright and Related Rights (OTDAV), as part of the third edition of the Tunisian Literary and Artistic Property Days.OTDAV Director General Ramzi Kasraoui stated that the objective of this meeting is to exchange opinions and experiences on AI to establish a regulatory framework governing its use.He highlighted that AI "exploits protected creative works by introducing some modifications before making them available t o the public."This practice raises legal issues concerning the origin of the works and intellectual property, he added.Scientific coordinator of the seminar and Secretary-General of the Tunisian Union of Visual Artists (UAPT) Wissam Gharsallah noted that AI has enabled the adoption of new techniques in artistic creation. Creators increasingly rely on algorithms to generate AI-based content in fields such as visual arts, cinema, music, and more, he explained.However, he admitted to concerns about "copyright and the means to protect the original work from any illegal use of AI, especially since current legislation was not designed to protect human creations from the potential dangers of AI use, which also raises an ethical issue."During the seminar, OTDAV signed partnership and cooperation agreements in the field of intellectual property with the National School of Advanced Sciences and Technologies of Borj Cedria (ENSTAB), the Higher School of Economic and Commercial Sciences of Tunis, and the Tunisian Union of Visual Artists.Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse