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SAG-AFTRA Battles AI With New Actor Protections
22 May
Summary
- New SAG-AFTRA contract offers protections against AI-generated actors.
- Producers must prove AI actors offer 'significant additional value'.
- Arbitration process aims to disincentivize widespread synthetic actor use.
SAG-AFTRA's new tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) includes significant protections for actors concerning artificial intelligence. The union aims to safeguard performers from the growing use of digital replicas and synthetic actors. Producers using AI-generated performers must now prove they bring 'significant additional value' to a production.
This new contract avoids a direct ban on AI, acknowledging its inevitable integration into filmmaking. Instead, it establishes a negotiation and arbitration process. This mechanism is designed to deter the widespread adoption of synthetic actors for cost-saving purposes. The agreement emphasizes that studios will overwhelmingly continue to use union performers for projects.
