Artificial Intelligence has rushed to the forefront of the labour fights in Hollywood in the blink of an eye. Along with the traditional disputes such as increases in compensations, better residuals and staffing requirements, AI technology is the wildcard in the breakdown of multiple contracts that led actors and writers to go on a strike that has passed 100 days now.

By showing unprecedented solidarity, the two major unions of Hollywood, the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA), have joined their hands against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and went for a strike for the first time since 1960. It made many actors, writers and crew members withdraw from working in the industry.

Why has AI become the hot topic in the strike?

As the technology Artificial Intelligence thrives even in the film and television industry, the writers and actors fear they will lose control of their well-paid likenesses. While the unfamiliar actors fear they will be replaced in the future. Moreover, the writers fear they will have to lose credit to machines.

Emerging technologies have already taken space in every domain of filmmaking, from de-ageing the actors like Harrison Ford in the recent Indiana Jones film or Mark Hamill in The Mandalorian to generating abstract animated images of Samuel L Jackson and a swirl of various aliens in The Secret Invasion on Disney plus and even to suggest recommendations on Netflix.

All the people in each union and side included in the strike recognises the use of technology more widely is inevitable. Due to this, they are looking to establish legal and creative control over it.

The actors’ fear

The discussions on AI between the two unions, SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP that focused on the employers shifted from a theoretical framework to a battle when the strike was declared in July. In a description released by furious actors on social media, SAG-AFTRA released this classification of the studio’s AI position, which the AMPTP called a deliberate distortion. “We want to be able to scan a background performer’s image, pay them for half a day’s labour, and then use an individual’s likeness for any purpose forever without their consent,” the union stated.

“We also want to be able to change principal performers’ dialogue and even create new scenes without informed consent. And we want to be able to use someone’s images, likenesses, and performances to train new generative AI systems without consent or compensation.” They added.

While the AMPTP responded, their offers included an AI proposal which protects performers’ digital likenesses, including a requirement for performers’ consent to create and use digital replicas or for digital alterations of a performance.

SAG – AFTRA emphasised the need to safeguard the “human-created work”, which includes alterations to an actor’s “voice, likeness or performance”.

The writers’ take

In the contract for screenwriters, the WGA clarified they would use AI, but not more than a tool for them to use in their work. Though they agree to shape their stories with AI’s assistance, they are unwilling to share the credits vital to their status and pay. The WGA opposes raw, AI-generated storylines and dialogues to be regarded as the “literal material”. In addition, they do not want their storylines to be considered as “source material” either.

Meanwhile, the AMPTP mentioned in a document outlining its position that writers “want to be able to use this technology as part of their creative process, without changing how credits are determined, which is complicated given AI material can’t be copyrighted.” The studios quoted the previous contracts of writers saying, “corporate or impersonal purveyor” of literary is not a screenwriter.” They also clarified that only a person could be named writer, and any AI-generated material would not be eligible for writing credit. 

However, while the Hollywood strike passes 100 days, according to a new report which was commissioned by Lucidworks, a search and insights company revealed almost every entertainment and media company plans to boost their generative AI spend. “Companies in the entertainment, technology and consumer products industries are frontrunners in plans to increase generative AI spending,” says the report.  

• Photo by De'Andre Bush on Unsplash
• https://fortune.com/2023/07/24/sag-aftra-writers-strike-explained-artificial-intelligence/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2023/08/16/as-hollywood-strikes-96-of-entertainment-companies-are-boosting-generative-ai-spend/?sh=4cf0449b3f04