The agreement “allows the industry to move forward, it does not block AI,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA negotiator, declared at a press conference.
“But it guarantees the protection of artists. Their rights to consent are protected. Their rights to fair compensation and their labor rights are protected,” he said.
Studios have been experimenting with AI in recent years, from bringing back deceased movie stars using realistic “digital replicas” to using computer-generated background figures to reduce the number of actors needed for battle scenes.
Many cost-cutting producers want AI to play an increasingly important role, and have begun requiring some actors to engage in high-tech 3D “body scans” on set, often without explaining how or when the tools will be used. images.
But now, an actor must receive the same remuneration for any use of their digital replica as they would have earned doing the same “amount of work” on stage in real life, Crabtree-Ireland said.
Fearing that “extras” will be the first to lose their jobs at the hands of AI, strict restrictions have been put in place.
“A digital replica cannot be used to circumvent the hiring and payment of a supporting actor under this contract,” Crabtree-Ireland added.
Studios must obtain the consent of an actor – or their heirs – every time their digital replica is used in a film or television episode.
They cannot present actors with standard contracts authorizing them to use a replica in perpetuity, but must instead provide a “reasonably specific description” of how it will be used each time.
“Zombies”
Artificial intelligence technology is advancing at a dizzying pace, but it has never before been part of the discussions when SAG-AFTRA renegotiates its contract with studios approximately every three years.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said it was vital to nail down the rules this time, because “in the world of AI, three months equals a year.”
“So if we don’t get those barricades. What would it be in three years?… It would be so out of our reach, that we would always be chasing something, but we would never end up getting it,” he explained.