After 148 days of strike, American screenwriters approved a new collective agreement governing their relations with producers. An important part of the negotiations concerned generative AI. What guarantees have they obtained and how is this a significant precedent?
The screenwriters’ strike in Hollywood has caused quite a bit of discussion. Particularly because this protest movement has extended over time and has paralyzed an entire entertainment industry. But also because some of the demands related to the dazzling progress of generative AI and the consequences that these technologies could have on the employment and remuneration of authors involved in the production of films, series and other popular late-night shows. The agreements reached could also create a precedent for a number of activities impacted by the growth of ChatGPT, Bard, Dall-E, Midjourney and other GenAI tools.
148 days of strike
The union defending the interests of screenwriters in the entertainment industry in the USA, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), has just announced that 99% of the members who voted approved the agreement obtained after five days of negotiations and a long-term strike that began last May. “This contract, obtained […] at the end of a 148-day strike, provides significant progress and protections for the authors,” welcomed the union. Concerning the artificial intelligence aspect, the WGA initially demanded that the collective agreement governing relations with producers be modified by specifying that AI cannot write or rewrite literary material, nor be used as a source of information. . In addition, the writers wanted that the material covered by the agreement could not be used to train AI.
Common ground found on several points
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) initially rejected the WGA’s proposals outright. Ultimately, both parties agreed on several points, including that AI-generated material cannot be considered literary material or source material. Additionally, the AI cannot have author status. Additionally, the agreements stipulate that an author can choose to use AI, if the client company consents. But the latter does not have the right to require the screenwriter to use an AI tool. Additionally, if a document provided to the writer was created by AI or contains AI-derived information, the production company must declare this transparently. Finally, the WGA reserves the right to prohibit the exploitation of editors’ materials to train AI.
Bottom-up will
This agreement is of significant importance, in particular because it proves that new rules surrounding AI can arise not from the will of governments or regulators, but from people who actually deal with these technologies. Whether they suffer it or use it, analyzes the Financial Times (paid item). For the economic daily, this precedent would be enough to encourage employers and employees in all sectors to deploy technical progress in a progressive and concerted manner, “slowly but surely improving their understanding of AI”.
Welcome safeguards and uncertainties
Wired fait observer that at a time when many people fear that generative AI will take away their jobs, the new WGA agreement could set a precedent, not only in Hollywood, where the actors’ strike is still ongoing, but also in other sectors in the United States and around the world. The specialized media adds that the agreement, “in addition to putting in place safeguards to ensure that AI cannot completely replace screenwriters, it puts a brake on the most likely scenario, namely that Screenwriters would be asked to adapt or edit something written by a large language model or a tool like ChatGPT, for less pay than producing an original work, possibly without their knowledge.
The new guarantees obtained by the WGA would, however, have limits. Wired quotes Daniel Gervais, professor of intellectual property law at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, who believes that it remains to be seen how the terms of the agreement will actually be enforced or not. The specialist admits that this agreement gives authors some negotiating power with studios, but fears that it may not be enough to prevent an AI company from taking over their work.
2023-10-10 21:21:59
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