King and author Sir Kazuo Ishiguro ‘discussed threat AI could pose to creatives’

The King brought up the threat that artificial intelligence (AI) could pose to creatives, author Sir Kazuo Ishiguro has said as he detailed their conversation during an honours ceremony.

The Japanese-born author, 70, who moved to the UK as a child, was made a Companion of Honour for services to literature at the event at Windsor Castle.

Describing his chat with Charles, he said the King raised the subject of AI and told him it is “important to keep battling on that front”.

Sir Kazuo told the PA news agency: “This is the third time he’s presented me with something and he alluded to the fact that we keep doing this.

“He asked me about my writing, and he did actually raise the question about AI and the threat to the creative people of AI.

“Obviously we didn’t have time to go into depth but he said he thought it was quite important to keep battling on that front.”

Sir Kazuo was one of a number of British stars who signed an open letter protesting against the “unlicensed use” of creative works for training generative AI last year, warning it posed a “major, unjust threat” to artists’ livelihoods.

He said on Tuesday: “I don’t object necessarily to using creative work in the training of AI, it’s the framework in which it’s done.

“I think many of us are concerned about the fact that the copyrights were completely infringed.

“Our work was being taken, all my books have been taken to train AI, but if the copyrights can be respected then it can be used in a way that, say, a traditional researcher would use somebody else’s book.

“Just because it’s AI, it shouldn’t be an excuse to just raid people’s intellectual property.”

The author and screenwriter said he is however “quite optimistic” about the “positive benefits” of AI.

“Different people involved in these campaigns have different views about AI per se,” he said. “Some people might be very negative about AI altogether. I’m not.

“I think there are many, many great things that can come from it, but as a society we have to figure out how to do it in a controlled way so that it benefits people.

“I’m quite optimistic about the positive benefits.”

Sir Kazuo is known for 2005’s Never Let Me Go and 1989’s The Remains Of The Day, for which he won the Man Booker Prize.

The Remains Of The Day was his third novel and was adapted into a film starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Emma Thompson, which earned them both Academy Award nominations, and the 1993 adaptation a total of eight Oscar nods.

He is also a film writer and wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for the 2022 film Living, about a civil servant, played by Bill Nighy, who embraces life after he finds out he is dying.

The Order of the Companions of Honour was founded in 1917 by George V and is limited to 65 members at any one time. Appointments go to those who have made a long-standing contribution to arts, science, medicine or government.

Sir Kazuo called the honour “wonderful”.

He added of the ceremony: “This is the first time I’ve been in Windsor Castle. It’s quite overwhelming. It’s really very beautiful. So it’s great to get something like this in a place like this.”