The WGA Leaders Share Deal Details about AI
Two WGA leaders shared details about the process and outcome of the strike negotiations in an interview.
Since the news about the end of the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) strike was announced on Sunday (September 24th) night, the public has been waiting for more information in the negotiated contract with the AMPTP that will shape Hollywood in the coming years of increasing importance of both streaming platforms and the developing artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Although the deal still awaits for member ratification, it is revealed to cover essential areas like writer's room staffing, AI usage parameters, and compensations for popular streaming projects. The Hollywood Reporter had a candid conversation with the union’s negotiating committee co-chair Chris Keyser and union president Meredith Stiehm about the process and outcome of the negotiations. Highlighting the shift in negotiations, they acknowledged the significant change in dynamics when top CEOs - Bob Iger from Disney, Donna Langley from NBCUniversal, David Zaslav from Warner Bros. Discovery, and Ted Sarandos from Netflix - stepped into the conversation. Their involvement rapidly accelerated the resolution process, overcoming many longstanding hurdles.
One of the critical elements discussed was AI and its impact on the writers' profession. They negotiated essential protections to safeguard writers' rights, workflow, and compensation. The more intricate matter of using writers' material for AI training is a topic that they aim to address with flexibility and caution in the future, ensuring writers' rights.
Two types of AI protections were negotiated: one protects writers' workflow, rights, credits, compensation, and separated rights, ensuring that AI isn't considered literary material under the minimum basic agreement (MBA). The workflow also extends to the writers’ concern that AI-generated material will replace or dilute human writers’ credit and compensation. According to Matthew Sag, a professor of law and artificial intelligence at Emory University, who thinks that the new agreement addresses the concern, while also acknowledging the possibility that some writers might choose to accelerate their workflow with AI tools, and “leaving the writers with a genuine choice in this regard is an important victory for the WGA.”
The second one pertains to companies' usage of writers' material to train AI systems. Though companies claim certain copyright rights, the writers maintain contractual rights, which may provide limitations or compensation. Given the uncertainty of the future of AI and its implications, every right held by writers has been retained. Instead of pre-emptive negotiations for an unpredictable future, writers preserve all their rights, both legally and under the MBA, especially if their work is used for AI training. Thus in a way, while some details are yet to be determined (TBD), the emphasis is on safeguarding writers' rights, ensuring they are not compromised in any unknown situation in the future.
Emphasizing the unity and determination of the members, Keyser spoke about the significance of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) joining the strike. This movement broke the AMPTP's strategy of sidelining the WGA, compelling them to re-engage and tackle the presented issues. The negotiations' outcome are transformative for writers, stated by Stiehm, and she expressed hope that the WGA success would inspire other unions to recognize their collective strength.
Reflecting on the strike's historical significance, Keyser described it as a testament to the power of unity. The overwhelming support from other unions and the broader labor industry was seen as a transformative moment for labor rights that impacts beyond Hollywood.