The deal is seen as a potential model for future labor disputes in content-creation industries. However, it does not prohibit studios from using scripts they own to train AI systems, leaving this issue to the legal system. The agreement comes amid growing concerns about the use of AI in the creative industry, with authors recently filing a lawsuit against OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is also seeking safeguards against AI in their ongoing strike.
Key takeaways:
- After a 148-day strike, Hollywood screenwriters have secured protections against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in script writing, marking one of the first major labor battles over generative AI in the workplace.
- The tentative agreement requires studios and production companies to disclose to writers if any material given to them has been generated by AI partially or in full, and AI cannot be a credited writer or write or rewrite “literary material.”
- The deal does not prohibit all uses of AI, acknowledging it can be a worthwhile tool in many aspects of filmmaking, including script writing, but a company cannot require a writer to use AI software.
- While the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have agreed on terms, they acknowledge that the legal landscape around the use of generative AI is uncertain and rapidly developing, agreeing to meet at least twice a year during the contract’s three-year term.