AI Provisions in the 2023 Hollywood Strikes

The Writers Guild of America was on strike from May 2 to September 27, 2023. SAG-AFTRA's television and film members struck from July 14 to November 9, 2023. It was the first time both unions had struck at the same time since 1960. AI was one of several disputes, alongside streaming residuals and writers' room staffing, but its terms have been copied more than any other part of the deals. The WGA's 2023 Minimum Basic Agreement treats AI as a tool, not a writer. AI-generated text does not count as literary material. That means it cannot be treated as source material, and studios cannot use it to reduce a writer's credit, pay or separated rights. If a studio gives a writer AI-generated material, it has to say so. The writer is then paid as if writing from scratch, not at the lower rate for a rewrite or polish. A writer may choose to use AI if the company agrees, but a company cannot require it. The guild also kept the right to argue that using writers' scripts to train AI is prohibited by the contract or by other law. That question was left open, not settled. SAG-AFTRA's contract focuses on digital replicas. An employment-based replica is made while the performer is working on a production. An independently created replica is built from existing footage or recordings. Both need clear, conspicuous consent that describes the intended use with reasonable specificity, and both require payment. 'Synthetic performers' are AI-generated characters that are not recognizable as any real person. Using one requires notice to the union and a chance to bargain. A common misconception is that the deals banned AI in Hollywood. They did not. They set rules for consent, disclosure and pay, and those rules cover only the studios that signed the contracts. The contracts run for about three years at a time.