Lee Soo-man Made First Official Appearance After Leaving SM, “I’m dreaming of an AI world without copyright infringement.”

The “2024 International Conference of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) General Assembly” creator discussion session was held at Conrad Seoul, located in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on May 30th. At the general meeting, a panel discussion session was held for the creator of “Cultural Crossing: K-POP Case Studies.” At this event, former SM executive director Lee Soo-man gave a keynote speech. This is Lee’s first official appearance about nine months after the 2023 East Asian Future Forum” held in August last year.

Lee Soo-man said, “K-pop is an industry that requires considerable initial investment, from the perspective of a producer. It takes years to discover, train, and nurture idol trainees.” Lee emphasized the need for copyright protection, saying, “Copyrights have become a means to help singers continue their activities by protecting the material price that is given to them at this time.”

Lee Soo-man expressed his expectations for the convergence of AI and the cultural industry. He said, “The music producing industry, which can be called the content industry, is entering a new era. The technology of AI and chatbot is dramatically changing the way creators and consumers communicate. We are securing human fans with more beautiful looks and voices than humans, and we can even communicate directly with them,” he said.

Lee Soo-man said, “I think AI in the near future will be able to develop into becoming our best friends and maybe even lovers. I am confident that AI will greatly contribute to communication with K-pop fans.”

Lee Soo-man also warned of possible copyright infringement due to AI. “AI has elements of copyright infringement. We need to look at the standard of how far contents will be viewed as learning material and as new product of AI,” he said.

In particular, former general manager Lee Soo-man emphasized that indiscriminate theft and plagiarism of AI could harm the structure of the music industry. “If AI chatbots do not identify where they used excerpts when providing content to consumers, creators of original works can be indiscriminately stolen from,” he explained.

Lee Soo-man, former general manager, said, “Because of such a thing, creators of many products that are not highly recognized by the public will be exposed to the world with their creations not protected at all. If the virtuous cycle of settlement of copyright fees no longer continues, I think the cultural industry, which should be respected, can be transformed into a wrong structure that no longer develops.”

Lee urged associations and political circles to respond quickly to copyright issues. “AI development certainly brings a new life and good quality, but problems that may arise must be clearly stated,” Lee said. “The associations will have to speed up their laws and policies. Laws are always revised very slowly and only after everything happens. We need to take action before we have a problem. We need to establish clear copyright laws and regulations and establish global standards.”

At the same time, Lee Soo-man also proposed using ‘smart contract’ technology based on blockchain technology to settle copyright fees. He said, “Smart contracts are a system that can maximize time and economic efficiency by automatically protecting the rights of copyright holders. If we achieve a unification that clarifies standards worldwide, I think it is the best way to protect the copyright of copyright holders.”

Lee Soo-man, who was explaining the necessity of introducing smart contracts, said, “Even a young girl living in remote areas can make music. We need to make sure that the copyright of the songs she made can be recognized.” “If the girl posts a song that she wrote while watching the stars in the night sky on the platform, it should be made available to producers on the other side of the world right away. As soon as they use the song, copyright fees automatically go into her wallet,” he said.

“The AI world is a world of great opportunity for creators and a world of copyright infringement risks. There will be more and more contents using AI. There will be more virtual avatars and humans,” Lee Soo-man said.

“In that case, we have to consider whether the rights of the original author will be protected. Now that technology is growing rapidly geometrically, we need to respond. We need to set standards and organize policies for the very near future, and strive to open a copyright-protected AI world,” he said in his keynote speech.

Meanwhile, CISAC is the world’s largest copyright-related non-governmental organization, with 225 copyright organizations in 116 countries around the world as member countries.