Hollywood actors have initiated a strike, causing a complete halt in the American movie and television industry. The strike is motivated, in part, by concerns surrounding the impact of artificial intelligence (AI). The growing prominence of AI has raised alarm among Hollywood actors. Studios are exploring the potential of AI to create digital replicas of actors, which has led to a backlash from actors.
The strike comes after the Screen Actors Guild, the U.S. actors’ union, failed to agree on increased AI protections, which the union contends threatens the very existence of creative professions.
What Sparked the Hollywood Actors’ Strike?
Instances of AI-generated work by voiceover artists have already emerged, employing technology in various aspects of filmmaking, such as synthesized voices and visual effects like deep fakes and de-aging.
Liam Budd, an industrial official at the acting union Equity responsible for audio and new media, has highlighted the concern surrounding performance cloning. This concern refers to using AI to create performances using an actor’s image or voice.
“We’re witnessing the use of this technology in various areas, including automated audiobooks, synthesized voiceover work, digital avatars for corporate videos, and deep fakes used in films,” Budd explained.
Fear is spreading among members of Equity, and the union is actively educating them to ensure they understand their rights in the rapidly evolving landscape.
Entertainment Industry and the Need for AI
During an interview with BBC’s Tech Life, filmmaker, and writer Justine Bateman was skeptical regarding the necessity of AI in the entertainment industry. “We have no shortage of writers, actors, or filmmakers, so we don’t need AI,” she stated.
Bateman believes that using AI primarily addresses corporations’ profit margin eliminating the need to pay individuals. Companies can appease financial stakeholders and report higher earnings. According to Bateman, if AI becomes widespread, it could disrupt the entire structure of the entertainment industry.
Why are actors so worried about AI? https://t.co/WSlbFW5dwD
— BBC North America (@BBCNorthAmerica) July 14, 2023
Legitimate Concerns About AI Replacing Actors
Although some argue that AI will always lack the human touch, there are valid concerns that it may eliminate the need for writers.
Here are the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) concerns. WGGB is a trade union representing writers across various mediums, including TV, film, theatre, books, and video games:
- Artificial Intelligence creators use the writers’ work without permission and infringe on their copyrights.
- Increased use may lead to a decrease in job opportunities for writers.
- AI tools struggle to identify instances of AI use to create content.
- Adverse impact on the writer’s pay rates.
Consequently, the GB has proposed several recommendations to protect writers. The recommendation includes obtaining permission from writers before using their work. AI developers must be transparent about the data they use to train their tools.
Regulation is necessary to safeguard workers’ rights and protect audiences from fraud and misinformation.
Clarifying Ownership Concerns
The rapid advancements in AI have highlighted the need for clearer guidelines on ownership rights. For instance, when using AI-generated portrait apps like DrawAnyone, DALL-E, or Snapchat, the images enter the public domain for anyone to use freely.
These new images lack copyright protection. Dr. Mathilde Pavis, a lawyer specializing in digital cloning technologies, has argued about revising the UK copyright laws to address this issue.
“The fact that your face and voice have less protection than your car, laptop, phone, house, or books seems strange to me. However, that’s the current state of the law,” she commented.
Dr. Pavis believes the entertainment industry’s vulnerability regarding AI technologies calls for an update in copyright laws.
Written by Janet Grace Ortigas
Sources:
BBC News: Why are actors so worried about AI?; by y Shiona McCallum
Wired: Why Hollywood Really Fears Generative AI
Los Angeles Times: AI is Hollywood’s ‘Napster 2001 moment,’ entertainment lawyers warn; by Malia Mendez
NPR: Hollywood actors are pushing back against studios using AI to clone them; Bobby Allyn
BBC News: “Art is dead Dude” – the rise of the AI artists stirs debate; by Chris Vallance
Top and Featured Image by Paolo Chibrando Courtesy of Unsplash
