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Hollywood studios can train AI models on writers' work under tentative deal

Hollywood studios can train AI models on writers' work under tentative deal - WSJ

https://news.yahoo.com/hollywood-studios-train-ai-models-202844847.html

Entertainment executives didn't want to relinquish the right to train their own AI tools based on TV and movie scripts, since their understanding is that AI tech platforms already are training their own models on such materials, the WSJ reported. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Setting the stage for another possible work stoppage in Hollywood, video game voice actors and motion capture performers voted on Monday to authorize a strike if negotiations on a new labor contract fail.

Hollywood studios can train AI models on writers' work under tentative deal - WSJ

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Cynicivity

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Supposedly the studios are only allowed to train their AI on scripts THEY own. Not sure how much that matters if you’re a writer working for a studio, but as an outsider looking in, that seems to be what made the difference for the WGA.

Also, this tentative deal would only last up to September of 2026 so either way this deal has an expiration date. Does that mean that studios can do whatever they want with their AI after this date? How much more advanced is AI going to get in these 3 years? Do writers now have a 3 year lifespan remanining?

PugJesus

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How much more advanced is AI going to get in these 3 years? Do writers now have a 3 year lifespan remanining?

It probably doesn't matter if AI gets more advanced. Cheap will always win out over quality when corporations are involved, and AI writing is dirt cheap compared to paying a human being. See: the recent controversy with the opening of 'Secret Invasion' using AI art.

3laws

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the recent controversy with the opening of 'Secret Invasion' using AI art.

I don't think yo understood what happened. The studio that was commissioned the intro animation probably was paid the average for such VFX sequence, they just happened to use AI as a starting point. And trust me (I work for an "content" agency), everyone has been using AI tools for years in the industry.

Anyway, she point is that humans were still involved in 99% of the process, as always. An it's gonna stay that way for years (in VFX).

donuts

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It means that writers will be back to negotiate (possibly for significantly better terms) in 2026 should AI become a big money maker. By then it'll have been too late and AI will have killed the industry.

Nobody wants to watch AI generated movies or listen to AI generated music.

Grimy

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I want to make my own AI generated movies and I'm very interested in watching other people's work when it starts coming out. Not everyone needs to be spoon fed their entertainment by billion dollar companies.

donuts

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Good luck, have fun, and tell ChatGPT I said "hello".

Hildegarde

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Union contracts don't just expire. The contract has a 3 year term. At that point, an updated contract will need to be negotiated. If the 3 year period ends without a new contract, but the new parties are still making progress in the negotiations, the workers will continue to work under the terms of the old contract until the new one is completed.

If the negotiations are not going well, if they reach an impasse, then strikes or lockouts can happen.

Regardless, any terms in a union contract cannot be removed unless both parties agree to their removal. AI advancement or decisions by the studios could very well lead to another strike in 3 years, but any terms related to AI, or any other language in the contract will not automatically disappear at the end of the 3 year term.

Fredselfish

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Yes but more like 5 to 10 then you will see the industry purge a lot of writers and actors.

osarusan

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5 to 10 years is generous.

I think we're going to see a drastically different environment in less than 2 years.

Source: a friend is a newspaper reporter, and he's been telling me just how scared people are right now. It's not "happening soon" -- it has already happened and we are merely catching up to it. People don't seem to think it counts as "happening" until the last domino falls, but the dominos are falling right now.

Fredselfish

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Interesting didn't know that. It does explain how the quality of articles have gone down in the last year our two. Wonder how many we have read that was written by a bot over a human?