1st Amendment Group Project

ACTOR'S ANGLE CITATIONS   Lawler, Kelly. “SAG-AFTRA Is Worried about AI, but Can It Really Replace Actors? It Already Has.” USA Today , Gannett Satellite Information Network, 2 Aug. 2023, www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/08/01/ai-and-hollywood-strikes-what-the-real-threat-is-to-actors-writers/70436618007/. What Legal Protections Do Actors Have against Ai? | Backstage , Backstage, 27 July 2023, www.backstage.com/magazine/article/ai-legal-protections-76366/. Watercutter, Angela. “Tech Disrupted Hollywood. Ai Almost Destroyed It.” Wired , Conde Nast, 10 Nov. 2023, www.wired.com/story/hollywood-actors-strike-ai-future-distruption/#:~:text=In%20Hollywood%2C%20the%20fear%20was,that%20would%20edge%20out%20screenwriters. “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.” The White House , The United States Government, 22 Nov. 2023, www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/ai-bill-of-rights/. Bennett, Jeffrey. “SAG-AFTRA AI LETTER.” Maddaus, Gene. “AI Companies Praise Sag-AFTRA and WGA Contracts: ‘They’ve Do...

 I side with actors and entertainers who want nothing but to have the rights to their own likeness; it feels like an invasion of privacy for there to be no control of AI that can take your face and voice and make you say and do things you would never do. This may contribute to the ruining of a perfectly fine reputation, perhaps someday being marked with disdain because somebody "saw what they (actors) did" and wasn't being told the truth of how what they witnessed was developed. While it is convenient to not have to pay anybody to do exactly what you want them to do as a director or large company, it's your working partners' loyalty that you are risking when using AI to essentially tell them, "there's no need for you."

The issue of AI is still so fresh and has not had a long history as we're currently making it with large headlining issues with SAG-AFTRA and AI software comp anies. "... it is too soon to predict even the roughest sketches of regulations to protect consumers and contain the risks that the technology poses to jobs, the spread of disinformation and security," (Kang, 2023). However, using BCLP's tracker of regulation bills for AI, when narrowed down to California where a majority of the entertainment industry does its business, AI regulation goes back to 2018. Though not to do with actors yet, it had to do with consumers and transparency. 

 The fear of AI originates from the idea that artificial intelligence would gain use and popularity to the point of it outweighing the need for real  actors, and  real  people. While other countries like China and the EU have come forward with propositions and laws regarding this issue, the US has been severely behind in its development of protections for actors.  In Oct. 2022, Biden's administration put out the "Blueprint For An AI Bill of Rights". On the White House website, Biden's blueprint points out AI being misused in ways that " threaten the rights of the American public." Taking this quote, it goes on to point out how not only are our rights threatened, but opportunities are limited. Noting the use of the word "opportunities", actors are struggling with the same thing in the field of AI being involved in the creative process. But, regardless of these plans that came out over a year ago, SAG-AFTRA is barely reaching deals for actors just t...

 One of the most specific concerns in the SAG-AFTRA strike is the use of AI. In this case, the use of technology to mimic an actor's face, body, voice, etc. To actors in the strike, this causes concern in terms of job opportunities. There have been dozens of creative works projecting the "what-if" factor of artificial intelligence seemingly taking over the world. It may not be as  Terminator -esque as an issue of robots with laser guns, but it does threaten the actors who put in the work to bring entertainment to us every day.  " ... it's unlikely that the writers who penned those sci-fi scripts, or the actors giving soul to a machine, ever thought that AI might represent a serious threat to their livelihoods,"  (Lawler, 2023).  The issue from the perspective of law lies within the actors' likeness. Their features, uniqueness, and talent, are all at threat when AI can generate and animate these individuals and take from them what they gave the industry. ...

Hello! My name is Cooper. I was born and raised in Fullerton, California, and have lived in Anaheim for the past year. I am finishing up my requirements for my AA-T in Communications at Mt. SAC and plan on transferring out to a Cal State. In my free time, I like to bird watch, bake bread and cakes, take pictures on my iPhone, and play piano.