The prospects of generative artificial intelligence in Hollywood — and the way it can be used as an alternative labour — has become a critical holding point for actors on strike.
In a news conference earlier this week, Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) president Fran Drescher stated that artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to creative professions and that all actors and performers deserve contract language that shields them from having their identity and talent compromised without their consent and payment.
"If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble. We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines,” Drescher added.
In order to defend writers and the works they produce, SAG-AFTRA has joined the authors Guild of America, which represents Hollywood screenwriters and has been on strike for more than two months. Together, they are asking for a contract that specifically requires AI controls.
"AI can't write or rewrite literary material; can't be used as source material; and [works covered by union contracts] can't be used to train AI," read the WGA's requests released on May 1.
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems that replicate human behaviour have increased in popularity and effectiveness in recent years, particularly when it comes to producing text and images. Hollywood is increasingly using technology that can mimic human appearances and voices.
Since late last year, chatbots like ChatGPT, which can accurately mimic human writing, have been increasingly popular. However, they also have glaring flaws: the bots frequently get fundamental facts wrong and are derivative when asked to write original works.
The performers' worries are a reflection of a larger fear shared by entertainers and many other creative individuals. Many people worry that, in the absence of strong regulation, their work will be copied and remixed by artificial intelligence programmes, reducing their control over it as well as their ability to make a living.
At the press conference, SAG-AFTRA's top negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland alleged that the studios' proposed AI regulations exploited performers who did not have speaking roles.
They suggested that our background actors should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day's work, and their company should own that scan, their image, and their likeness, and should be able to use it forever in any project they want, with no permission and no payment.