The Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) is currently in a ‘war’ against numerous Hollywood studios and production houses due to demands of better working conditions. Among the most concerning issues is the utilization of generative AI, a feature that has been hailed by many tech companies. ChatGPT is viewed as the flag bearer of AI technology but many studios are either speeding up or dragging their feet in integrate AI and ensure there is an efficient use of it.
Generative AI has caused a lot of distress, primarily from the fear that this technology could replace plenty of human jobs. Hollywood writers are no strangers to this worry, as a report from Engadget suggests. At the same time, the quality of the content generated by AI can be found wanting and the WGA member and writer C Robert Cargill take to twitter to express his sentiments. Cargill was of the belief that his fellow writers were not actually worried their work will be replaced by AI, but rather they are anxious to be reasonably compensated for their work, something the movie studios at odds with WGA are pushing against.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), as stated in Engadget, released a comment claiming creativity and insight required for innovative projects come with human experience, not AI. At the same time, they want writers to use technology to fuel their creativity, but are not open to allow AI generated material to be eligible to a writing credit.
The lack of proper credit for authors can be quite worrying for writers, knowing that generative AI can do a number of tasks without any major troubles. Though this may be alarming, the AMPTP claimed AI-generated material would not be eligible for writing credits and in doing such, would difficult copyrighting.
The Writers’ Guild of America is an organization that represents the interests of writers in film, television, and other media. They have been advocating for better working condition and regulations for writers since their establishment in 1933. C Robert Cargill is one of the WGA members who has been openly vocal about their fight against Hollywood Studios and demanding better pay and terms of conditions.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is the trade association that represents the seven major motion picture studios in the collective negotiations with artists, actors, writers, and directors. It has long been at the forefront of industry negotiations and has worked hard to form beneficial partnerships. They are not only responsible for negotiating contracts with the WGA but also make sure the credits are properly allocated to the appropriate creators of the content.
