Labour Crisis: How Artificial Intelligence Revolutionising the Entertainment Industry

Artificial intelligence(AI) has taken center stage in a rapid era of change, ushering in a wave of  transformative technological possibilities. It is a field of computer science which aims to create  computer systems capable of performing tasks in a way that mimics human intelligence. AI uses  neural networks, rules-based systems, and other Machine learning techniques to generate images,  text, music, speech and much more. [1] This allows applications of AI across diverse sectors. The  global community has embraced AI as a convenient tool that has heightened productivity.  Organizations worldwide have begun using AI to streamline processes and devise innovative  solutions.  

On the contrary, there are voices from different organisations that emphasize the downsides of AI,  especially in the media and entertainment industry. With the quick spread of AI, the likelihood of  generating synthetic voices and faces with unprecedented accuracy has increased significantly with  the help of software like Runway, Synthesia, and Curious Refuge. All-new characters can be made  with these tools, primarily through generative AI, and actors can be cast in specific roles. This  technology has paved the way for a human replacement that Hollywood writers and actors fear  could fuel job insecurity. Filmmaker Justine Bateman highlights that the “ AI in Arts is the  destruction of the film industry, and it is being used in arts for greed, trained on all our past  work.”[2] Similarly, SAG-AFTRA believes that through AI, the production companies “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.”[3] These rising concerns led towards the  call for a Hollywood strike back in July 2023 by the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation  of Television and Radio Artists(SAG-Aftra ) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) against The  Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) for workers’ rights and a  mechanism for safety from artificial intelligence. On the other hand, critics argue that artificial  intelligence has opened a gateway for enhanced technological advancement in the entertainment  industry, which will aid in boosting its content and profits. Regardless, the consequences of  generative artificial intelligence can not be brushed aside. The infringement of rights emerging  from generative AI displays the urgency for limitation on the scope of this new technology in  entertainment for actors and writers. The birth of these novel technologies has begun the long standing debate of the struggle for labour rights in Hollywood. 

The Birth of Hollywood’s Disruption 

The AMPTP represents all major production corporations and streaming platforms working in the  Hollywood industry. Once every three years, the AMPTP, with all major Hollywood unions, holds  a meeting to discuss and renew minimum basic agreements or labour deals that set labour  conditions, benefits, and compensation standards. These negotiation agreements have led to  significant development in the industry with minimum wage agreements, etc. However, conflict  arose this year when the entertainment industry escalated its unpredictability due to the rapid  growth of streaming platforms and the emergence of generative artificial intelligence. Since the  last writers’ strike in 2007, widespread consumer adoption of video streaming has illustrated how  emerging technologies uplift the entertainment industry and pose a threat to non-streaming  platforms’ decline in revenue with potential labour layoffs. “Today, the only one we know of that  is cashflow positive is Netflix,” said a streaming media analyst, Dan Rayburn. He reveals a $3.5  billion free cash flow this year due to streaming platforms compared to Disney or Warner Bros.  [4]. While streaming companies benefit from AI, platforms such as Netflix release job lists for  positions in the company’s machine-learning group with a salary range of between $300,000 and  $900,000, a wage that human workers have been striving for. [5] This fueled anger amongst the  actors and writers’ unions for the absence of better wage models following the current business  model of Hollywood. 

With the generation of motion and image capture tools by artificial intelligence companies, there  is an introduction to the possibility of actors being present in movies they never physically shot. Joe Russo, co-director of “Avengers: Endgame,” explains that the future AI in entertainment would ruin the whole industry: “You could walk into your house and say to the AI on your  streaming platform, ‘Hey, I want a movie starring my photoreal avatar and Marilyn Monroe’s  photoreal avatar, and suddenly, now you have a rom-com starring you that’s 90 minutes long.” [6]  The presence of these novel technologies further fueled the conflict after claims of copyright law  were rendered ineffective concerning writers declaring authorship on the product of generative AI  because the new product contains fragments of the work of various authors.[7] The Writers Guild  of America West argues that the generative artificial intelligence tools are being with content that  is both copyright-protected and public domain content leading to it producing a result that does  not qualify for copyright protection. Thus, raising apprehensions about the potential legal route for  writers’ protection from AI tools. 

Amidst this growing anxiety against AI, organisations such as SAG AFTRA and WGA, ensuring  Hollywood actors and writers are guaranteed safe working conditions and fair wages for their  respective work, joined hands to raise their voices to demand reform from AMPTP. The expiration  of the minimum basic agreement between the Writers Guild of America and AMPTP was due 1st  May 2023 whereas for SAG- AFTRA was June 30th 2023 with their respective labour deal with  the studios. The collapse in the negotiations for the renewal of the contract between the studios  and the unions was because of a stalemate on the improved wages and the restriction on generative  AI in Hollywood. 

The Hollywood Writers Strike 2023 began with the primary aim of gaining a fair contract  resolution with the studio association based on their rights. SAG AFTRA proposed informed  consent and compensation for the usage of digital replicas made through generative AI. The studios  declined such a proposal as they wished 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.” [8]They want the liberty to alter dialogue and develop new scenes of actors without  any prior permission from the performer. AMPTP expressed their plan to permit entertainment  platforms to utilise one’s images and performances to train the AI systems without their consent  or compensation. [9] On the other hand, while the writers’ union raised similar demands to SAG 

AFTRA, they contended for the Minimum Basic Agreement to include provisions that regulate the  use of AI in writing literary material. The WGA called for a ban on the writers’ work being used  to train AI, along with studios pledging to end the use of AI as source material in scripts. The  writers’ union advocated for improved payment systems and authorship credits for writers to ensure  protection against AI. AMPTP rejected the proposal and offered only annual meetings to assess  the growth of AI technology. 

The New Paradigm for Labour 

Subsequent to the Hollywood strike of 2023, which brought the entire industry to a standstill for  months, a new era of creativity has unfolded due to the newly negotiated contract deals with  AMPTP. The battle against artificial intelligence by SAG-AFTRA and WGA has resulted in a  victory for worker rights. SAG-AFTRA successfully included its demands for a significant  increase in minimum wages for actors and performers, along with provisions that control AI use.  The new contract regulates AI through employment-based digital replicas and independently  created a digital replica, which laid down the system to obtain consent from the performer before  using their respective performance from prior work.[10] The tentative agreement sufficiently  addresses the concerns for a digital replica of actors, particularly the deceased actor’s right to  publicity, by making it vital for the studios to obtain consent from an authorized representative of  the union if consent is not given before the death of the actor. In addition, actors must be paid their  contracted rate for any time saved by using an employment-based digital replica of the actor. While  these terms may seem a win for actors, the potential increase of AI replacing human labour has  grown. The provision of consent is also flawed as the performer has no control over their  performance because consent to be taken in matters where alterations were done through AI is not  compulsory. Nevertheless, actors finally have the right to declare compensation from employers  when their performance is used in AI projects. It further opens the possibility of gaining damages  through court if compensation is not granted or consent is received, empowering and protecting  actors’ rights.  

Similarly, the Writer’s Union obtained a new Basic Agreement with protections against artificial  intelligence being ensured. The new agreement has increased the minimum compensation for  stream platform writer to 18 per cent but with conditions that their film budgeted at least $30  million. A significant right in the deal includes”reserves the right to assert that exploitation of  writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law.” [11] This term is being considered  a milestone because it enables WGA members to bring a claim of exploitation if any laws are  brought to permit AI training on a writer’s material. Additionally, the agreement has shifted the 

power dynamic by granting control to workers rather than employers. Previously, generative  artificial intelligence being trained on other people’s work was constituted as legal. For instance,  in Authors Guild, Inc. v. Google, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit stated that  Google’s development of a searchable database on published books was considered fair  use.[12]The agreement further addresses the dispute on the role of streaming platforms that  incorporates a condition that permits WGA to access actual data from AMPTP on “the total number  of hours streamed, both domestically and internationally, of self-produced high-budget streaming  programs.”[11] This provides more transparency and reduces the risk of alternative inaccurate data  that illustrate self-referential rankings being provided to the Guild Union by streaming companies.  Experts believe that the new basic agreement is setting the stage for more labour strikes that are  yet to come. “This is the first step on a long process of negotiating and working through what  generative AI means for the creative industry – not just writers but visual artists, actors, you name  it,” says David Gunkel, a professor of media studies at Northern Illinois University and author of  Person, Thing, Robot. Despite the agreement being considered a success, critics contend that the  agreement still permits the usage of AI material; it will just not give any credit and payment to  writers for the work. [13]  

These respective labour agreements by SAG-AFTRA and Writer Guild America are landmark  achievements that will shape the future of artificial intelligence in Hollywood. Before the labour  deals, Title 17 of United States Code Section 107(limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use) and  Section 102 (subject matter of copyright) favoured the generative artificial intelligence products  and often got declared as fair use of work, which infringed the rights of writers. [14] The code was  interpreted to give credit to AI companies, such as in Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony,  111 U.S. 53, 58 (1884), where the Supreme Court held that artworks created solely through human  input would be eligible for copyright protection. The United States Copyright Office adopted the  legal principle in section 306 of its rules that it will not “register an original work of authorship,  provided that the work was created by a human being.” [15] A recent major win for artificial  intelligence users was the judgement of Stephen Thaler v Shira Perlmutter 2023, in which Judge  Howell reiterated the Supreme Court’s verdict that any artwork generated through artificial  intelligence tools would not be entitled to copyright protection. [16] The court held that the  Copyright Act requires “copyrightable work to have an originator with the capacity for intellectual,  creative, or artistic labour.” The court further stated that the word “originator” was to be interpreted  as must be human; thus, the copyright law does not apply to content created solely through AI.  The Law does not provide any rights for writers or artists for credit, where any human input was  used by a generative AI program to produce an output.[17] The judicial system has let down the  labourers, particularly over the past year; hence, the new contract deal was essential to laying down  an improved framework for labour rights in Hollywood. Consequently, to tackle the violation of  the rights of writers, the US Copyright Office has launched a copyright initiative against artificial  intelligence. [18] 

The need for AI in Hollywood  

Artificial intelligence is a new game changer for Hollywood. It has created an endless range of  possibilities for the entertainment industry to explore for new content generation. For instance,  old actors’ performances can be resurrected through the creation of their digital replicas,  essentially immortalizing their characters. The identical digital replica and voice of the actor  could be used multiple times for films and shows without incurring extra costs and keeping the  memory of the beloved actor alive. Actor Tom Hanks remarked that he could work well beyond  his human lifespan, telling the Adam Buxton Podcast, “I could be hit by a bus tomorrow, and  that’s it, but my performances can go on and on.” [19] Studios endorse the use of artificial  intelligence in processing CGI (Computer-generated imagery) and making visual effects simpler,  quicker, and more cost-effective than long production obstacles. For example, Wonder Dynamics  is a company that generates AI outputs which enhance visual effects through which a human  actor could be replaced with a computer-generated figure.[20] Hence, this enables studios to  produce and shoot small scenes within a few days or a couple of hours rather than months. For  instance, a digital studio TheSoul claims that A.I. assists them in “speeding up the production  process, including the creation of various colours for marketing materials and reducing the  amount of time needed for a music editor to create longer tracks. Ultimately, this tech investment  allows TheSoul to create more content.” [21] 

Furthermore, Haibing Lu, associate professor of Information Systems and Analytics at Santa  Clara University, does not think the situation is quite as dire, “AI can help us to do a lot of  things, but it still requires experts to verify the accuracy of the information…..I don’t think that  AI will completely replace human beings. But AI has become like a digital calculator. It’s going  to help us to do the basic mathematics, but we still need to learn. It just helps us to improve our  productivity.”[8] 

Despite SAG-AFTRA’s reservations about artificial intelligence tools, they do not believe in  banning AI from the industry altogether. Similarly, WGA wants its members to be able to use AI  tools but is asking for assurances that using those tools won’t count against them in determining  credit and pay. These unions have acknowledged that production companies are more willing to  invest in AI software due to the long-term benefits of profitable business rather than old  mechanisms. Hence, the increase in support for AI programs will assist Hollywood in  progressing into a new era of advancement and transforming the increased use of computer  content in movies. 

Activists and organizations fear artificial intelligence’s role as a potential threat  centred around job security and consent. Actors and writers fear that AI’s advancement and  increased interference will create a world where their presence will no longer be essential to  produce entertainment. The technological evolution made it necessary for a revolution for labour  rights in Hollywood, with a reform that included protection and financial security for Hollywood  workers. The constant infringement with no legal recourse available for protection needed to be  addressed through a new labour deal with the studios. SAG-AFTRA and WGA became the voice  of the workers and achieved victory with a new system in place for labour rights being granted.  The deals laid the foundation for the struggle for labour rights by unions that has given performers  and writers the strength and awareness to fight for their rights. Although AI’s role in the  entertainment industry raises valid concerns, it is pertinent to highlight that generative AI has  provided a new mechanism for production corporations to make more profits with less cost. While  the development of Artificial intelligence continues to rise, there is still a long road ahead for  Hollywood writers, actors and performers to attain further legal security from AI.  

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