Artificial intelligence has made its way into Hollywood and it may be here to stay. The use of AI to create digital likenesses was a major sticking point in the longest ever actors鈥� strike in history, which has ended with a tentative agreement that provides protections regarding how studios and streaming companies use performers鈥� digital twins. This means Hollywood can get back to work, but it may have also opened a new can of worms.
The collective bargaining agreement for performers requires film and TV companies to ask permission to make digital replicas of actors using AI or other technologies, along with providing compensation, said , chief negotiator for the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), in a interview. That same agreement also provides for a minimum wage increase and allows performers to potentially share more of the revenue from streaming platforms.
鈥淎lthough an actor鈥檚 likeness has traditionally been protected through privacy and publicity rights, the chief negotiator鈥檚 statements suggest that the new provisions will provide even greater protections and protect performers from being forced into disadvantageous contracts relating to AI,鈥� says 聽at US law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP.
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He says such protections would presumably also extend beyond the visual likenesses of actors to their voices and any 鈥渄erivatives鈥� of their likenesses. SAG-AFTRA and the end of its almost four-month-long strike on 8 November.
Studios would also need to seek permission from the estates, heirs or beneficiaries of deceased performers and provide compensation before using their digital likenesses. Such safeguards would 鈥減revent a lot of people鈥檚 worst-case scenarios about AI and film,鈥� says聽 at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
She says that having an agreement on AI protections that covers SAG-AFTRA鈥檚 160,000 members ensures that actors who aren鈥檛 at Scarlett Johansson or Cillian Murphy levels of fame and fortune can still have a minimum 鈥渇loor of protection鈥�, even if they don鈥檛 have the power to negotiate with studios themselves.
But Fortmueller wants to know whether the new agreement鈥檚 baseline protection applies to background performers who appear in film and TV scenes without speaking roles 鈥� or if studios can still ask background actors to sign away their digital likeness forever in exchange for a modest sum. The exact details of the agreement are set to be released once SAG-AFTRA鈥檚 national board reviews it.
The agreement may also open new opportunities by paving the way for actors to get paid while fulfilling multiple roles simultaneously, if they agree to the use of their digital twins, says Meyer. He also said it may provide backup options in case an actor becomes unavailable before the end of a film or TV production, and it could reduce the need for re-shoots.
On the other hand, the ongoing development of new AI capabilities could bring surprises for both actors and studios down the line. It remains to be seen whether this latest SAG-AFTRA agreement will hold up well in the face of the rapid improvements in AI, says Meyer.
Expanding the use of digital actors could also limit opportunities for living performers, even if actors and their estates are compensated and credited for usage of their digital likenesses. 鈥淚t will be interesting to see whether the new agreement protects living actors from having to compete with virtual versions of living and deceased actors,鈥� says Meyer.
Actors haven鈥檛 been the only creative professionals negotiating on the use of AI. The Writers Guild of America, which represents film and TV writers, also negotiated for guaranteed protections against AI infringing on their work in a with studios and streaming companies 鈥� but only after organising the second-longest writers鈥� strike in the union鈥檚 history.
Now that production can continue on TV and film projects, actors may be breathing a sigh of relief. But it remains to be seen whether performers who agree to have their likeness recreated by AI will benefit in the long-term.
