Unions, lawmakers support striking actors

A coalition of Hollywood unions representing writers, Teamsters, stagehands, and musicians called on studios to resume talks with striking actors. In a letter Friday, the group said the entire industry would suffer if actors remained on strike. On Thursday, four senators released a bipartisan draft bill to protect against unauthorized imitations of a person’s voice or likeness through artificial intelligence. The performers union SAG-AFTRA walked out on Hollywood studios three months ago for failing to protect against unauthorized AI use in union contracts, among other issues.

Why did negotiations break down? Talks between actors and studios resumed on Oct. 2 after the Writers Guild of America ended its strike in the last week of September. The association representing producers released a statement Wednesday night saying talks are “no longer moving us in a productive direction.” SAG-AFTRA accused the studio alliance of using “bullying tactics,” citing examples of negotiators allegedly misrepresenting revenue and costs associated with contract requests.

Dig deeper: Read Emma Freire’s report in WORLD Magazine on evangelical computer scientists discussing the pros and cons of AI.