The Labor Relations Clause in the WGA-AMPTP Agreement: “The New Generation of Artificial Intelligence is Not Usual” and Its Implications for Writers
“In this contract, we have done what no other union could,” August says. We have put limits on the use of Artificial Intelligence, for the first time. That is going to affect the lives of writers a lot.
The synthetic Nora Ephron may yet come to pass, but the deal struck this week between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) will go some way toward protecting writers against its impact.
The contract states that computers can’t be used to write and rewrite any written material, that studios won’t reveal if material is artificial intelligence-generated, and that writers shouldn’t have their written material used to train artificial intelligence without their permission. Provisions in the contract also stipulate that script scribes can use AI for themselves. At a time when people in many professions fear that generative AI is coming for their jobs, the WGA’s new contract has the potential to be precedent-setting, not just in Hollywood, where the actors’ strike continues, but in industries across the US and the world.
I’ve been in the entertainment industry for a long time. I joined the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) when I was 11 in 1977, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) when I was 22, and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) the following year. I studied film at NYU and then went on to act in movies like The Lost Boys and the Bill & Ted franchise while writing and directing my own narrative work. I’ve experienced many labor crises and strikes but never like the one we’re currently experiencing, after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) refused the union’s demands in order to negotiate a new contract.
But studios are already busy developing myriad uses for machine-learning tools that are both creative and administrative. Will they stop development when they find out that their copyrighted product is in danger from machine-learning tools they don’t control and that the Big Tech monopolies won’t stop their development? Can the government get Big Tech to rein it in when those companies know that China and other global entities will continue advancing these technologies? All of which leads to the question of proof.
The Luddites and the AMPTP Meeting: A Call to Action for the Future of Human Technology, and Why Tech Is So Evil
AlexWinter is an actor. He starred in the Bill & Ted franchise and his narrative features include the cult classic Freaked and the critically acclaimed Fever. His current feature documentary, The YouTube Effect, premiered at Tribeca and is now available on digital.
The AMPTP is due to meet next week, with the strike still going on. I hope they can raise the bar again in their meeting, with even more protective language.
Mostly, I hope everyone involved takes the time to learn how these technologies work, what they can and cannot do, and gets involved in an industrial revolution that, like anything created by humans, can provide tremendous benefit as well as enormous harm. The term Luddite is often used incorrectly to describe an exhausted and embittered populace that wants technology to go away. The actual Luddites were highly skilled at using technology in their work in the textile industry. They weren’t an anti-tech movement but a pro-labor movement, fighting to prevent the exploitation and devaluation of their work by rapacious company overlords. If you want to learn how to fix the problems we face from technology, become more involved. Become a Luddite.
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