About the Strike and the Agreement
SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors' Guild - American Federation of Television & Radio Announcers) went on very public months long strike in 2023 over a number of issues with the AMPTP (the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers). Many issues were related to adjusting pay for the new streaming economy and some important provisions related to AI. In fact, for many people, this was their first awareness of how AI may affect jobs -- entertainment just happened to be ahead of the curve.
While touted as a "landmark agreement" it did win many provisions that the Union was seeking, many critics (and members) feel that it fell short in the area of AI. In fact, SAG-AFTRA created guidelines for permissible use, and did not define actors as humans as opposed to the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and Writers Guild of America who deemed in their agreements that directors and writers are humans. I believe along with others that they thought the development of technology wouldn't outpace their next negotiation in two years. Stay tuned for posts about Sora AI and advances in Runway AI that are both here within months of the approved agreement.
The use of AI in films and TV doesn't just threaten actors, it could have a huge impact on IATSE (The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) which represents all of the folks behind the scenes who make these productions happen and were on the lines supporting all of these strikes. With text-to-video, who needs sets, makeup artists, hair, costumers, lighting, grips, camera people and more...? Their jobs are under immediate threat as well.
Below are some great charts produced by SAG-AFTRA that summarize their handling of AI from the agreement:
➤ SAG-AFTRA 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts, SAG-AFTRA
Justine Bateman's Warnings Regarding AI and Acting
Actor, writer, director, producer and computer scientist Justine Bateman (yes, the same Justine Bateman from family ties and sister to actor/producer/director Jason Bateman), was a former SAG-AFTRA Board Member and a special strike advisor about the threat of AI. Here are two video interviews with her, one before the agreement, and one just before the membership approved it.
Just Before the Strike, July 10, 2023:
Hollywood on Strike: Justine Bateman on AI and the Future of Entertainment | 5 Things, USAToday
After the Strike Agreement, but Before Ratified by Members:
Justine Bateman: Risk of AI is Actors Can Be ‘Replaced by Synthetic Objects’, MSNBC
SAG-AFTRA Strong logo made available to union actors from SAG-AFTRA
