Colombian audiovisual creators warn of shifting value and call for clear AI rules in Colombia

On the sidelines of the Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias (FICCI), CISAC and its Colombian member society DASC, brought together creators and collective management representatives to examine the growing impact of artificial intelligence on Colombia's audiovisual sector.

Organised as part of CISAC's Global Creators Dialogues - Centenary Series, the session combined economic data with firsthand insights from audiovisual creators. One thing became very apparent from the discussions - that Colombia cannot afford to delay regulation.

Panellists included Teresa Saldarriaga (President of DASC), Rafael Fariñas (CISAC's Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean), and Colombian directors Luis Enrique Vanegas and Víctor Quesada Largo, moderated by Luisa Luna (CISAC's Creators' Relations Manager).

Watch the panel discussion (in Spanish).

A shifting economic landscape for creators

The discussion opened with the presentation of CISAC's AI economic impact study by CISAC Regional Director Rafael Fariñas. Its findings set the tone for the panel, outlining the scale of the challenge facing audiovisual creators in the years ahead.

According to the study, up to 21% of audiovisual creators' revenues could be at risk by 2028. This is equivalent to an annual loss of €4.5 billion. The drivers are twofold: the unauthorised use of copyrighted works to train AI systems as well as the growing substitution of human-created content.

For the Colombian directors on the panel, these shifts are already visible in daily practice. AI tools are now part of the creative process, helping to structure ideas, accelerate workflows and open new possibilities. But the gains in efficiency come with growing pressure.

"There is a silent pressure: speed," said Víctor Quesada. "Today you're not just competing with other creators, but with entire production systems that write and generate content at a different speed."

Panellists stressed that AI marks a structural shift in how creative work is produced and distributed, with direct consequences for how value is generated and shared. The concern is a gradual shift of value toward technology developers, away from the creators whose works underpin these systems.

Where Colombia's AI regulation has yet to catch up

A central focus of the discussion was the absence of clear rules governing how AI systems use creative works.

Panellists drew a clear line between inspiration, a part of the creative process, and the large-scale extraction of copyrighted works without consent or compensation. For many, that line has already been crossed. Works are absorbed into training datasets, and new content is generated without recognition of the original creators.

At the same time, creators are becoming aware that they are entering the debate at a late stage.

"What worries us isn't the technology," Quesada and Vanegas noted, "but that we creators are arriving late to the conversation about how value is redistributed."

In response, panellists called for a regulatory framework based on three principles: transparency, consent and fair remuneration.

"If AI learns from us, it must do so under clear rules." Vanegas and Quesada stressed.

In Colombia, several legislative initiatives on artificial intelligence have been introduced, but they remain general in scope, focusing on ethics and security. None directly addresses copyright.

This gap places Colombia at a critical juncture. Following legislative elections in March 2026 and with presidential elections approaching, the country is in the process of defining its regulatory direction. For the panellists, this is a key opportunity to ensure that creators are not left out of the conversation and remain central to the audiovisual economy.

Rebalancing power through collective management

In a sector increasingly dominated by large global technology companies, individual creators have limited ability to negotiate fair conditions. Collective management organisations therefore play a critical role.

CISAC and DASC highlighted their work in representing creators, engaging with AI developers, and building licensing systems capable of delivering fair remuneration.

For Teresa Saldarriaga, the objective is not to resist AI but to shape how it is used. AI is already part of the creative ecosystem. The challenge is to ensure that it serves creators, rather than the other way around.

She also called for stronger coordination across collecting societies. "We are waiting for the new Congress to begin engaging with lawmakers and achieving regulation. It is up to all collecting societies to unite and work on this issue".

While AI offers new creative possibilities, without proper safeguards, creators' rights will be undermined. The priority now is to ensure that innovation develops alongside strong protections for those whose work sustains the sector.

CISAC and its Colombian member societies DASC and REDES will continue their advocacy efforts to ensure that audiovisual creators' rights are fully reflected in the development of Colombia's AI regulations.