School of Law postgraduate researcher wins prestigious Socio-Legal Studies Association funding!
Christopher Robinson has won fieldwork funding from the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) which will cover expenses incurred during his fieldwork.
The aim of the SLSA PhD Fieldwork Grants Scheme is to support fieldwork for which other funding sources are not available and to encourage socio-legal research initiatives in a practical way.
Christopher’s PhD investigates whether the law needs to change in light of AI developers using the work of artists to train AI models without consent. The full title of his PhD is 'An analysis of UK copyright law protection of visual art from use as training data for artificial intelligence (AI) models.’
His fieldwork involves interviewing people who can provide insight into the research he is carrying out, for example interviewing artists about their views and experiences with AI.
He says:
With the rapid development of AI and the well-publicised use of the works of artists without permission to train these AI models, a review of the UK’s copyright framework to evaluate its fitness for purpose to protect artistic works is a pressing issue. I am delighted to receive the award as it will cover necessary expenses such as travel and accommodation costs while I carry out interviews as part of my research.
Christopher’s supervisors, Professor Subhajit Basu and Associate Professor Rebecca Moosavian say:
We’re both genuinely excited by Chris’s research in this topical and fast-moving area. Chris has made a great start to his PhD journey, undertaking in-depth and rich inter-disciplinary research into the copyright regime. But he is also looking beyond the books, speaking to a range of creators and other stakeholders to learn more about their experiences of AI in practice. The SLSA fieldwork grants are very competitive, and the award is testament to both Chris’s hard work and the wider significance of his research.
The School of Law congratulates Christopher on this important funding win.
