Of the 16-page summary detailing the tentative deal between SAG-AFTRA and the studios, more than five are spent on provisions over artificial intelligence. The document cites the establishment of a “broad, protective” definition of generative artificial intelligence, along with requirements surrounding notice, consent and compensation around digital replicas of actors and “synthetic performers” created by AI tools.
Source: Actors’ AI Protections Are a Step Forward, But There’s Reason to Worry
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told the Financial Times yesterday that GPT-5 is in the early stages of development, even as the latest public version GPT-4 is rampaging through the AI marketplace. Altman implied that his company has not started training the model, so this early phase could involve establishing the training methodology, organizing annotators, and, most crucially, curating the dataset.
Source: GPT-5 Is Officially on the OpenAI Roadmap Despite Prior Hesitation – Decrypt
Two SAG-AFTRA board members explained why they voted against the contract, which includes provisions on artificial intelligence. Shaan Sharma and Anne-Marie Johnson were among at least eight dissenters on the 80-member board. Both said that AI was key to their opposition, though they also had other reservations. “There should be no AI. Only human beings should be used in what we create for public consumption,” Johnson said.
Source: SAG-AFTRA Board Members Explain ‘No’ Votes: ‘There Should Be No AI’
Warner Music Group announced that it has partnered with Piaf’s estate for “Edith,” set to be a 90-minute film set in Paris and New York from the 1920s to the ’60s. (Piaf, known as the “Sparrow of Paris,” died Oct. 10, 1963.) The film will be narrated by an AI-generated facsimile of Piaf’s voice. According to Warner Music, AI technology trained on hundreds of Piaf’s voice clips and images — some of which are over 80 years old — will allow for her “distinct voice and image to be revived.”
Source: Edith Piaf AI-Generated Biopic in the Works at Warner Music
YouTube will have two sets of content guidelines for AI-generated deepfakes: a very strict set of rules to protect the platform’s music industry partners, and another, looser set for everyone else. That’s the explicit distinction laid out today in a company blog post, which goes through the platform’s early thinking about moderating AI-generated content.
Source: YouTube is going to start cracking down on AI clones of musicians
The technology is “in production right now and functioning,” Believe’s Chief Financial and Strategy Officer, Xavier Dumont, said on the company’s Q3 earnings call on October 24. “This was developed internally by our own teams that have expertise in AI and audio recognition,” Dumont said, adding that the technology has enabled Believe “to provide control of the content and protection to our artists as generative AI becomes more widely adopted.”
AI is a story to tell, and no longer just in science fiction. As present in the imagination as politics, the pandemic or climate change, AI has become part of the narrative for a growing number of novelists and short story writers who only need to follow the news to imagine a world upended. “I’m frightened by artificial intelligence, but also fascinated by it,” said Helen Phillips, whose upcoming novel “Hum” tells of a wife and mother who loses her job to AI.
The “tentative agreement” between the actors’ union and the AMPTP reportedly hinged on clauses regarding the use of AI. While exact details of the agreement won’t be revealed until it has been reviewed by the SAG-AFTRA National Board, reports earlier this week indicated that the studios had offered concessions around AI regulation following a “last, best, and final offer” to the actors’ guild on Saturday.
Source: SAG-AFTRA Ends Strike After Deal to Protect Actors From ‘Threat of AI’ – Decrypt
One of the biggest issues facing the team is how to protect the copyrighted materials once they are digitized and available online. In physical reading rooms such as those operated by Rose Library and other archival institutions, policies and procedures are in place to prevent theft and communicate copyright requirements, and a staff member supervises patrons using the materials.
Source: Rose Library secures Mellon grant to create virtual reading room
Biden’s Order is deceptively sweeping and certainly provides fodder to support many of the positions taken by the creative community – including those related to content provenance, copyright infringement, content “safety” and industry job security. One specific example is the labeling of AI-generated “synthetic” content with new “watermarking” technology.
Source: How President Biden’s AI Executive Order Impacts Media & Entertainment