Hollywood actors are on strike against studios’ offer to use their digital copies without consent and “for a one-time fee”.

Yesterday, at a press conference, the actors confirmed that they were organizing a strike. SAG-AFTRA (American Media and Creative Workers Union) chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Irland revealed the details of the proposal from Hollywood producers. It sounds like a script from Black Mirror.

Commenting on the strike news, the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance (AMPTP) said that their terms included “a breakthrough AI proposal that preserves the digital images of SAG-AFTRA actors.”

During a press conference, Crabtree Ireland explained, “The AI ​​proposal they made to us yesterday was that the mainstream actors would be scanned, they would get paid for one day of work, and their companies would own that scan, their image. , and will be able to use it in any of their projects without consent and separate compensation. So if you think this is a breakthrough proposal, I suggest you think again.”

The use of generative artificial intelligence was not the only one, but one of the main and most controversial points in the negotiations between the parties. This is also one of the main reasons for the WGA (Writers Guild) strike, which has been going on since May 2nd. SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher stated, “If we don’t fight now, we’re all in trouble, we’re all in danger of being replaced by machines.”

The strike began today at midnight (10 am Moscow time). Since that time, actors from media companies such as Amazon, Disney, Fox, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros. and others, refuse to participate in filming, premieres and ceremonies.

The SAG-AFTRA union unites thousands of actors, presenters and performers of different genres (about 160 thousand people). According to Crabtree Ireland, the organization did everything possible to reach an agreement, but AMPTP showed no interest in negotiations. “Because of high inflation, the members of our union are barely making ends meet,” he said. “And now actors are also facing the threat of generative artificial intelligence. We proposed contract amendments that would solve the problem, but AMPTP was not interested in our proposal.”