The WGA East Members Petitions against AI Takeover in Journalism
1,000+ WGA East members united to sign a petition letter, urging digital media companies to ensure artificial intelligence does not overshadow or replace human journalists.
Over 1,000 Writers Guild of America East (WGA East) members have publicly signed a petition urging digital media enterprises to take collective action on artificial intelligence (AI) protocols. Notable personalities including Natasha Lyonne, Adam McKay, Robert Carlock, Patricia Cornwell, Mary Harron, Tom Fontana, and Soo Hugh are among the signatories.
Released on October 30, the petition appeals to media corporations to pledge unequivocally that AI will not replace human personnel. Furthermore, it implores these firms to engage in immediate discussions on AI apart from routine contract negotiations, ensuring that AI protections remain a prominent agenda in future discussions.
The WGA East, representing journalists from renowned digital platforms such as HuffPost, Fast Company, Vice, and Vox Media, has been actively championing rights in the online media domain since 2015. Online media professionals now constitute around 40% of the union’s membership.
The petition acknowledges AI's potential as a constructive tool, but warns against its pitfalls, highlighting that AI may induce factual inaccuracies, reinforce prejudicial biases, jeopardize data privacy, and harm readers' trust. Recent incidents underscore these reservations. An AI-authored Star Wars article on Gizmodo was filled with mistakes, and CNET published an article stating that they have corrected the errors in articles generated by AI. Both Gizmodo and CNET are staffed by union members of the WGA East.
Sara David, WGA East's vice president of online media, articulated succinctly that the introduction of generative AI in journalism poses a palpable risk to the professions of dedicated writers. She emphasized the significance of human touch in journalism and asserts the imperative position of human journalists.
The full petition reads as follows:
We, the members of the Writers Guild of America East, recognize that digital media companies are eager to deploy generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools throughout our industry. We recognize there are ways AI can support our work — but we also know that this technology can introduce factual errors, perpetuate racist biases, compromise data privacy, and diminish our readers’ trust. We’ve already seen publications make embarrassing fumbles by rushing out AI-generated content, resulting in widespread reputational harm and reader mistrust.
We, the workers who create the stories, art, videos and podcasts our audiences love, are uniquely positioned to help identify beneficial uses of generative AI in our industry and flag potential problems. In the spirit of working collaboratively to preserve the journalistic integrity of our work, we call on our employers to:
Work collaboratively with us, the workers, before implementing AI tools in our workplaces. Commit to discussing new and emerging technologies with workers to ensure they’re applied in ethical and equitable ways.
Publicly commit to never replacing a human worker with an AI tool, a promise that would help restore trust with both workers who feel threatened by the emergence of AI in their workplaces and readers who feel uneasy about AI-produced content.
Engage in immediate, good faith negotiations on AI outside of scheduled contract bargaining AND a guarantee that AI protections will be on the table in future bargaining.