AI can’t replace humans yet — but if the WGA writers don’t win, it might not matter

polygon.com:

The first of what is sure to be many labor protests against artificial intelligence has already begun. It started with Hollywood writers who wanted to make sure they won’t be forced to work with — or be replaced by — AI tools like ChatGPT. But it has already grown beyond that. And it’s not hyperbolic to say that what’s happening in Hollywood right now will have broad ramifications for, well, all of us.

The current Writers Guild of America strike is ostensibly about streaming residuals. The bulk of the WGA’s proposals, as of May 1, are calls for clearer and more fair budgets and compensation for the TV shows and movies that make their way in some form to various streaming platforms.

But nestled down at the end of the last page of the WGA’s two-page proposal sheet is a section called “Artificial Intelligence.” It is the first large-scale attempt by a labor union to pressure an industry to regulate and, in some cases, ban the use of AI as a replacement for workers. And it will assuredly be replicated by unions across the country as this technology becomes more prevalent and, if current trends continue, more advanced.

The WGA is requesting that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) ban the use of AI for writing and rewriting any source material, as well as its use as a source material of its own, and that no AI material be trained on WGA writers’ work. So far, the AMPTP has rejected the WGA’s proposal and merely offered to hold “annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology.”

Disclosure: Rank-and-file staffers at Polygon are members of the Vox Media Union, which is affiliated with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE). The Vox Media Union’s collective bargaining agreement is separate