Since June, Hollywood studios and performers have debated
the use of artificial intelligence in film and television. Failure to agree on
terms around AI was one reason why the SAG-AFTRA union representing actors and
media professionals last Friday joined the writers guild in the first
simultaneous strike in 63 years.
Among the actors' greatest fears? Synthetic performers.
While the two sides have negotiated over issues ranging from
using images and performances as training data for AI systems to digitally
altering performances in the editing room, actors are worried entirely
AI-generated actors, or “metahumans,” will steal their roles.
"If it wasn't a big deal to plan on utilising AI to
replace actors, it would be a no-brainer to put in the contract and let us
sleep with some peace of mind," Carly Turro, an actress who has appeared
in television series like “Homeland,” said on a picket line this week.
"The fact that they won't do that is terrifying when you think about the
future of art and entertainment as a career."
One issue is creating synthetic performers from an
amalgamation of actors' images. Studio sources said this has not happened yet,
though they are aiming to reserve that right as part of the contract talks.
SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, said
AI poses an “existential crisis” for actors who worry their past, present and
future work will be used to generate “synthetic performers who can take their
place.”
Crabtree-Ireland said the union is not seeking an outright
ban on AI, but rather that companies consult with it and get approval before
casting a synthetic performer in place of an actor.
The major film and television producers say they have
addressed the union's concerns on the issue in their latest proposal, according
to sources familiar with the matter. The union, however, has not responded to
their proposal, these studio sources say.
The studios, eager to preserve creative options, agreed to
provide SAG with notice if they plan to use such a synthetic performer to
replace a human actor who otherwise would have been hired for the role, and
give the union the chance to negotiate, according to sources familiar with the
producers' position.
Digital replicas
Another sticking point in the negotiations is the creation
of digital replicas of background performers.
The major studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion
Picture and Television Producers, said they would obtain an actor's permission
to use their digital replica in any motion picture outside the production for
which the performer was hired, according to the sources familiar with the
producers' proposal.
The producers said they would negotiate with actors on
payment when the digital duplicate is used — and stipulated that the virtual
version of the actor could not stand in for the minimum number of background
actors required as part of the SAG agreement.
SAG says the studios have agreed to obtain consent at the
time of initial employment, which it argues is contrary to the idea of
additional compensation.
"What that actually means is those companies will tell
background performers, 'If you don't give us the consent we demand, we won't
hire you and we'll replace you with someone else,'" said Crabtree-Ireland.
“That's not meaningful consent."
The studios also are looking to continue the longstanding
practice of 3D body scans to capture an actor's likeness, in this case to
create AI-generated digital replicas. Such images would be used in
post-production, to accurately replace an actor's face or create an on-screen
double, said a person familiar with the mechanics of film production.
The producers have promised to obtain a performer's consent,
and bargain separately for subsequent uses of an actor's doppelganger, sources
say.
Studios can do that now, with appropriate consent and
compensation, said Crabtree-Ireland. The issue for the union is the desire to
retain rights to the digital replicas for future works, effectively taking
ownership of the virtual persona.
Similarly, the studios want the right to digitally alter a
performance post-production, in a way that is consistent with the character,
the script and the director's vision. This ability to substitute a word or two
of dialogue, or make a quick digital wardrobe change, could save hundreds of
thousands of dollars in costs to re-shoot a scene, said one of the studio
sources.
The producers offered to seek a performer's consent for any
changes beyond typical alterations done post-production, sources say.
SAG interprets this as AI overreach, and wants permission
sought before any changes to an actor's image, likeness or voice.
"Traditional editing methods cannot create a new scene
that never existed before," said Crabtree-Ireland. © Reuters
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