TLDR: An AI Executive Turns AI Crusader to Stand Up for Artists

Ed Newton-Rex, a former AI executive, has launched a nonprofit named Fairly Trained to encourage companies to be more thoughtful about sourcing training data for AI projects. Fairly Trained offers a certification program, called L Certification, which identifies AI companies that license their training data. The nonprofit charges a fee of $500 to $6,000 for its certification, depending on the size of the company.

Key Points:

• Ed Newton-Rex, a former AI executive, has launched a nonprofit named Fairly Trained to encourage companies to be more thoughtful about sourcing training data for AI projects.
• Fairly Trained offers a certification program, called L Certification, which identifies AI companies that license their training data.
• The nonprofit charges a fee of $500 to $6,000 for its certification, depending on the size of the company.
• So far, nine companies have received the certification, including image generator Bria AI and music generation platform LifeScore Music.

Ed Newton-Rex, former head AI designer of TikTok and executive at Stability AI, has launched a nonprofit organization called Fairly Trained to address ethical concerns surrounding the collection of training data in the AI industry. Fairly Trained offers a certification program, known as L Certification, which distinguishes AI companies that license their training data from those that do not.

Companies receiving Fairly Trained’s certification must prove that their training data was either explicitly licensed for training purposes, in the public domain, offered under an appropriate open license, or already belonged to the company. The certification is intended to give companies that treat creators fairly a competitive advantage in the market.

So far, nine companies have obtained Fairly Trained’s certification, including image generator Bria AI and music generation platform LifeScore Music. These companies have demonstrated their commitment to using licensed training data, rather than scraping the web without proper authorization. Other companies are currently in the process of completing their certification.

Fairly Trained charges a fee for its certification, ranging from $500 to $6,000 depending on the size of the applicant’s business. The fees collected help support the ongoing operations of the nonprofit organization.

While Fairly Trained’s certification program has garnered support from trade groups and companies in the music industry, the movement to change the AI industry’s standard practice of scraping training data is still in its early stages. As a one-man operation, Fairly Trained faces significant challenges in promoting ethical data practices.

However, Ed Newton-Rex is optimistic that Fairly Trained’s certification program can make a difference. Although it may not solve all the ethical issues surrounding AI, he believes that it is a step in the right direction and has plans to expand the certification to address additional concerns in the future.