Hollywood actors seek new deal on use of AI ‘digital doubles’

Hollywood’s biggest union will this week begin discussions over pay in the artificial intelligence age as part of contract talks with studios, debating how human actors should be remunerated for the work of their “digital doubles.”

Concerns about AI’s disruptive potential have rattled Hollywood talent execs, who worry the technology could result in fewer jobs for screenwriters, voice artists and others. Actors are also concerned about losing control of their image, as AI technology has been used to create “deepfake” videos featuring the likenesses of actors such as Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union, said, “The last 18 months have seen rapid advances in generative AI technology, which we are seeing in real time (and) it is already affecting our members.” doing.”

SAG-AFTRA will meet with their Hollywood studio counterparts on Wednesday to start a new three-year contract. The talks come at a tense moment in Hollywood: The Writers Guild of America has been on the picket line for more than a month, and SAG-AFTRA has asked its members to authorize a strike if a settlement is not reached by June 30.

If the actors go on strike, it would be the first by their union since 2000. It will bring Hollywood to a halt just as movie studios are beginning to recover from the pandemic. A new contract settlement was reached Sunday between the studio and the Directors Guild of America, which could form the basis of a settlement with some hopeful actors and writers.

Crabtree-Ireland said a top priority for the actors’ union is to ensure that artists have “informed consent” about the use of AI-created likenesses and are paid fairly for the work of their digital doubles.

“I don’t think we want to see our members in a race to the bottom with their digital doubles,” he said. “The work of all our members is subject to negotiation above a certain minimum (and) the starting point will be union scale” pay for AI-created equality.

Lawyers, producers and talent agency executives say such an arrangement can prove to be of financial benefit to top stars. They say that it would be possible for an actor to shoot a film at a location, while the digital version of the actor could at the same time earn money by shooting for an advertisement.

“Actors . . . can be in multiple locations at once because these tools can help them execute different projects in different phases,” said Hillary Crahan, chief legal officer at Creative Artists Agency.

A veteran Hollywood talker said: “George Clooney might only physically produce two or three movies a year (but with a digital double) you could probably cast him in six movies. As long as you’re right for it.” rate, it’s definitely an opportunity.”

There is less optimism about AI among Hollywood writers, who fear the technology could put them out of work. Such concerns have increased since the launch of ChatGPT in November, which demonstrated the potential of generative AI.

Charles Slocum, an assistant executive director at the union, said the Writers Guild opposes the use of AI in the screenwriting process except as a research tool. “Going any further than that is unwise,” he said, labeling generative AI software programs “plagiarism machines.”

The authors’ stance on artificial intelligence – as well as their concerns about the remunerative practices brought about by streaming – have led many to conclude that the strike could last well into the summer.

“(Writers’) main concern is that the studios are going to replace them with AI,” said the veteran Hollywood negotiator. “They view the AI ​​issue as an existential thing right now.”

The group representing studios and streamers, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, had offered to hold annual meetings on AI, saying the technology was moving too fast to wait three years between contract negotiations. has been – a proposal that was greeted with derision by the Writers’ Union.

Ivy Kagan Bierman, an entertainment labor attorney at Loeb & Loeb, said the topic of AI has further alienated studios and unions.

“Obviously, studios don’t want to negotiate something that gets in the way of using AI technology,” she said. “On the other side of the table, you’ve got writers, directors and actors who are concerned that this technology could be used in ways that are not in their best interests.”

He has argued for an industry-wide task force to study the impact of AI, but so far the idea has not caught on. “AI is not something we should address out of fear, nor is the bargaining table the best place to initially try to resolve concerns,” she said.