I am not an actor, nor do I have a vote in the SAG-AFTRA contract, but I have been teaching about AI for over a decade, have been doing tech justice work for even longer, and I can say that this contract will impact everyone.
I read through the entire 129-page agreement. I wish it did better to protect actors. Parts of the contract around AI use ring extremely dangerous for actors. Now yes, but particularly in the future.
In AI, and tech in general, what are possible changes more rapidly and radically than even the creators of those technologies can predict.
It took years for the scope of the internet to go from writing emails and sending files to being able to have a car app pick you up at an exact location or having a medical appointment over FaceTime.
Every technology impacts everyone.
Think about ChatGPT’s release 1 year ago. Add onto that Midjourney, Synthesia, and all of the Generative AI platforms.
Even the creators of these platforms admit they could not anticipate how they would iterate or be applied.
AI will look entirely different in just a few years. And everyone should be paying attention to this contract.
I wish the terms were more anticipatory for the actors. That they protected the actor’s future based on what the world will become, not only what it is now.
I’ve spoken with many actor friends who are about to vote on the contract. I am not a voter here so my voice is perhaps moot. I do wish the contract did not have so many gaps that will only widen with each iteration of AI.
I know that this was a long battle fought. I know people who went out to strike every day and many who scraped by to arrive at this moment.
But I also know your work, and your craft are worth more. Worth more in compensation, yes, but more importantly your likeness should ALWAYS be yours. Not just for actors, but for everyone in a world where our digital selves WILL be our identities.
I constantly talk about biometric theft and gathering, surveillance. Al has a major part in all of those. At airports, borders, venues, in the streets, by police, by governments, at work, including acting. Our digital selves will become our identities, and in a sense, we will all be our own actors. And this is one of many reasons the SAG-AFTRA contract is a fight for everyone.
Actor friends, I know you are meeting, discussing, and strategizing. Thank you thank you for all you are doing.
Our digital selves WILL be our identities. There may not be another opportunity to negotiate that.
Merde friends.
This is a fight for all of us.
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