While most in Hollywood may want to take a break from talking about the impact of AI, as the topic dominated the industry conversation for much of last year, SAG-AFTRA We are still finding ways to continue to protect our members as we progress. .
The guild announced Tuesday that it has signed a deal with AI company Replica Studios for the use of digital voice replicas in video games. The agreement covers both the creation of digital audio replicas and their use throughout game development.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator, said the agreement is a great way for SAG-AFTRA to “work with employers to provide benefits and protections for our members and help them access opportunities through new technology.” “intention and ability to participate.”
The deal comes after the guild recently approved Film and Television with AMPTP after a strike that lasted nearly six months. During that time, AI has become one of the members’ greatest concerns. This is also an important milestone in his current negotiations with SAG-AFTRA and the video game company, which have been going on for over a year. The committee on that contract is the same committee that negotiated the deal with Replica.
Below, Crabtree-Ireland details the deal with Replica, how the guild hopes to invigorate negotiations with video game companies, and how AI will play a role in future negotiations with AMPTP. We will discuss in detail how it continues to be an important factor.
DEADLINE: Can you tell us a little more about the terms of your contract with Replica and why you think it’s a step forward?
Duncan Crabtree – Ireland: I think the number one reason is obviously I mentioned safe storage in the press conference. There are specific provisions related to the technical protections that need to be put in place regarding the storage of digital replica data or biometric data. That would be one thing. There are certain limitations to using digitally replicated data of any kind to train other AI systems without consent. So one of the things we wanted to include in the AMPTP agreement was a limit on the training of AI systems, but we ended up achieving a limit on the use of generative AI systems instead. However, this also includes restrictions on the use of work performed under the contract for training purposes. Use of these replicas and replicated data without additional consent is time-limited, as there is a maximum term of use. This is a little different because the AMPTP contract is actually per-project usage, but there are no specific time limits. This agreement has a time limit, after which additional payments and new consents must be obtained. Then there is a column called “Transparency Enhancement Clauses” for specific details of use in a particular project. Therefore, there should be some kind of transparency and disclosure section, requiring both detailed information about the project in question and detailed information about the intended use of the replica. These are the four evolutionary advances I would like to highlight in this agreement.
DEADLINE: You talked about this very briefly in your press conference, but how do you hope this agreement will stimulate negotiations with video game companies?
Crabtree-Ireland: In many cases, companies may be intentional about not agreeing to things, or may simply feel uncomfortable doing so out of concern about competitive disadvantage, or they may simply find themselves agreeing to something. I feel like maybe they just feel like they shouldn’t. They aren’t sure if they should agree to certain things because they aren’t experts enough. Therefore, if a company has truly recognized expertise in a field, that is the focus of its business, and that confidently puts these conditions in place and develops its own core business, then it I think it is also persuasive for companies. Companies that are concerned about the impact of specific terms, where that is not their sole focus. So this could serve as an example in a way for those companies, replicas could serve as role models and maybe help really convince them that they can do the deal they need to do and that it’s not harmful. I hope. their business. In fact, it will help their business.
Deadline: Shreyas said the deal has been in the works for quite some time. Is it just coincidental timing that the contract was signed now that contract negotiations are at a critical stage?
Crabtree-Ireland: So if we hadn’t gone on strike last year, this deal almost certainly would have been completed sooner. But as you can imagine, it’s clearly some kind of all-in situation. While that was happening, we were unable to get this deal across the finish line. So, after the strike ended and the agreement was ratified, we were able to step into this issue and complete the agreement in time. So the CES announcement is welcome. Coincidence is not the right word I’m looking for. I don’t know, maybe it’s fate? I don’t know. But that wasn’t a long-term plan. We were hoping for this announcement sooner. But we’re happy to have it now.
DEADLINE: I know that SAG has been talking about AI for a while, but during this last strike the discussion about AI became particularly prominent among our members. Have any conversations with members reaffirmed your perspective as you approach future AI negotiations?
Crabtree-Ireland: This was a very big conversation that we had extensively among our members, especially during the ratification phase of the AMPTP agreement. So I think the concerns that members have in general terms certainly resonate with all of us. I also think it was an opportunity to really educate our members about what’s going on with AI and why the approach that the negotiating committee for that contract took was the right approach. Considering the final outcome of the ratification vote, I think it was clear that the message ultimately resonated with the majority of member states. It’s all part of how we move forward. So this is a democratic organization of 160,000 members, so it can be difficult to be nimble at times, but when members are educated and engaged as they are, they It is a force that cannot be ignored. So I think it will absolutely impact negotiations around AI and all other contract areas. Because I think all these employers are seeing how committed our members are to this and they understand that.
Deadline: We already have strike authorization for contract negotiations for this video game…are you ready to use it? Could you please give us an update on the status of the negotiations? Do you have it?
Crabtree-Ireland: We are continuing our efforts to reach a contract with a video game company without actually calling a strike. We’re nearing the end of that road, and we don’t know yet, but we’ll probably find out in the coming weeks whether the two companies make the necessary moves for a deal. they know very well what it is. Once you know where it is, you know where it’s going. However, our members are committed to achieving a fair deal in video game contracts related to AI and other terms, and will absolutely take advantage of their strike permission if a fair deal cannot be reached. To do.
Deadline: This deal with Replica is reminiscent of the WGA’s strategy during the 2008 strike. The strike was meant to finally trigger contracts with individual production companies – in part to prove that the terms were entirely achievable for the studios. This is a strategy that many wondered if AMPTP would use again, but ultimately did not. Has it ever been on the table?
Crabtree-Ireland: Because the AMPTP in film and television contracts is a multi-employer bargaining unit, there are legal limits to what we can do to induce one of these companies to leave the bargaining unit. So if any of these companies were clearly interested in something like that, that could have happened. But ultimately, I really feel that if we can achieve terms that are accepted across the industry, then everyone will know what’s going on and have confidence in the protections that are in place. Masu. Because you can imagine how complicated and confusing that would be for members, their representatives, and their lawyers if we were to create a few versions, or even more, dozens of different versions of that agreement. Sho. So I think the best-case scenario is that we can stay in a place where we can create industry-wide standards. But I’m not totally against the idea of talking to individual companies. In Replica’s case, they are not, and never have been, part of a multi-employer bargaining group for video games, and they are not really a video game studio. They’re an AI company that is a vendor, a partner, to video game studios. Therefore, these clauses are very specific to their role in the industry and are a little different from what you might be negotiating in a video game contract. This includes, but is not limited to, AI-related concerns.
DEADLINE: I think everyone in Hollywood is hoping for some reprieve because the strike took up a lot of mental energy, but it won’t be long until SAG-AFTRA returns to the negotiating table with AMPTP. Sho. . How do you hope to advance AI provisions in future negotiations?
Crabtree-Ireland: Television animation is another negotiation with AMPTP and I expect it to happen within the next six months, so it will be sooner than most people are counting on. And the network code is technically he’s not affiliated with AMPTP, but you know, he’s affiliated with a lot of the same companies. So if you think talking about, thinking about, or working on AI will give you a break, you’re dead wrong. Because I think AI will continue nonstop for the foreseeable future. And that’s really important. So there is no doubt that it is worth the time and energy we spend on it. Because we are establishing ground rules and structures that will be in place for years to come and will have a profound impact on people’s lives. . So we’re very focused on that.
DEADLINE: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Crabtree-Ireland: I think one more thing I would like to add is the same one that I added a lot during the movie and TV strike. In the context of video games, it’s even more true because this is a fight for working performers. Certainly celebrity-type performers would benefit from negotiated provisions, but there is a whole group of performers for whom this is a large part of their basic ability to make a living. It’s a really important fight for them.