SAG-AFTRA releases agreement, details AI protections

by Rebecca Klar - 11/13/23 2:25 PM ET

A strike captain, right, leads the chants as strikers walk a picket line outside Warner Bros., Discovery, and Netflix offices in Manhattan, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA held a joint Latine Picket, presented by the WGAE Latine Writers Salon, the WGAW Latinx Writers Committee, and the SAG-AFTRA National Latino Committee. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Members of the SAG-AFTRA union will be able to give their consent and be compensated for generative artificial intelligence (AI) used to replicate their likeness, according to a summary of the union’s tentative agreement with studios released Monday.

The tentative deal with the AMPTP, or the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, establishes guidelines for the use of AI — marking a first for the union, which represents about 160,000 actors and other media professionals.

Actors had been pushing for protection from the technology that can create realistic portrayals of performers’ likenesses as the tools were becoming more widespread and posing challenges for how actors are compensated for work.

Along with the wins on AI, though, the tentative agreement did not secure all the requests from the union. The union had pushed to receive a share of revenue from shows that are made for streaming, but the tentative agreement has a more limited scope that caps the amount of residuals for actors, Variety reported.

The agreement lays out a structure that will provide revenues for streaming shows, with 75 percent of the fund going to performers in the most-watched shows.

The remaining 25 percent will be distributed to other performers, but the guidelines on how it will be distributed are not yet clear, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

Under the tentative agreement, which went into effect Nov. 9, ending the actors’ 118-day strike, the creation of a digital replica requires consent from the performer.

The agreement also lays out how a performer will be compensated through use of the replica, including time spent for creating the replica and how the replica is used.

The agreement was reached last week. It follows historic protections on AI the Writers Guild of America reached in September, which included protections around how AI is used.

The momentum in Hollywood to tackle AI through union negotiations comes as lawmakers and regulators consider guardrails for the use of AI to address a wide range of concerns, from AI replacing workers to AI amplifying the spread of misinformation.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has convened a series of AI Insight Forums that bring together industry experts, civil rights leaders and scholars to discuss the benefits and risks of AI. At the same time, Senate committees have held hearings about AI risks, and bipartisan proposals have been introduced, but the bills have not been voted on.

The Biden administration has also pushed forward with a sweeping executive order on AI and received voluntary commitments from leading companies to take steps to manage risks posed by AI, as Congress mulls legislation.