In a controversial move, the Alliance Of Motion Picture And Television Producers (AMPTP) publicized the terms of its latest offer to the striking Hollywood writers. Critics argue that the public disclosure was an attempt to pressure the members who are on strike.
Here’s the portion for the proposed provisions regarding AI use in Hollywood productions:
Artificial Intelligence Protections
The Companies propose landmark protections for writers surrounding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI). The Companies confirm that because GAI is not a person, it is not a ‘writer’ or ‘professional writer’ as defined in this MBA and, therefore, written material produced by GAI will not be considered literary material under this or any prior MBA. The proposal provides important safeguards to prevent writers from being disadvantaged if any part of the script is based on GAI-produced material, so that the writer’s compensation, credit and separated rights will not be affected by the use of GAI-produced material.
Should a Company furnish a writer with written material produced by GAI which has not been previously published or exploited, the Companies propose:
• GAI-produced material is not considered assigned material when determining the writer’s compensation. For example, if the Company gives a writer a GAI-produced screenplay and asks the writer to rewrite it, the writer will receive the fee for a screenplay with no assigned material and not a rewrite. Or, if the Company gives a writer a GAI-produced story as the basis for a teleplay, the writer will receive the story and teleplay rate.
• The GAI-produced written material will not be considered source material for purposes of determining the writer’s credit.
• The GAI-produced written material will not be the basis for disqualifying a writer from eligibility for separated rights.
• The Company will disclose to that writer that the material was written by GAI. The Companies also agree to the WGA’s proposal that a writer may not be required to use GAI in order to write literary material.
It is worth noting that, with this proposal, the Companies are now conferring greater protections on WGA members with regard to GAI-generated material than writers now possess if the studio were to give a writer a script that the studio acquired from a UK writer not working under the MBA and asked the writer to use it as the basis for writing a screenplay or teleplay.