Labor & Employment News Alert
Say Goodnight, Jimmy: Artificial Intelligence and the WGA Strike
May 10, 2023
By: Grace E. Hurney
After six weeks of negotiating with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), effective 12:01 A.M. on May 2, 2023, the Writers Guild of America called for its members to go on strike—the first Hollywood strike in fifteen years.[1] The Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America, East are labor unions representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news.[2] Shows like Last Week Tonight, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and The Late Show will take a hiatus.[3] Emmy Award winning sitcom Abbott Elementary may face a shorter season due to the strike.[4] HBO’s Hacks has halted filming on Season 3.[5] Under WGA strike rules, members of the Union are prohibited from performing any writing duties, even script revisions.[6]
Labor unions have long been concerned about the role of artificial intelligence in the workforce. In the 1950s, automation at automobile plants in the United States was a tremendous concern for labor unions.[7] In the 1980s, automation at meat processing plants meant less of a need for skilled butchers, allowing for less experienced workers to butcher the animals.[8] In the 2020s, concern has been raised over self-driving cars and trucks taking away the jobs of hundreds of thousands of taxi, truck, and rideshare drivers.[9]
Fascinatingly, the shift in labor law from concern regarding automation has finally crossed over to touch on the role of artificial intelligence in what has been considered “creative” jobs.
Amongst the words of support for the strike, the WGA released on its website a status sheet indicating the state of Union proposals and the Companies’ responses, as well as a list of tentative agreements on certain topics.[10] One of the hottest topics to be discussed across newspapers and online media is the proposal related to the use of AI in the development of scripts:[11]
Indeed, the WGA’s press release announcing the strike brought the artificial intelligence proposal to the forefront of the strike:
The companies’ behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce, and their immovable stance in this negotiation has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing. From their refusal to guarantee any level of weekly employment in episodic television, to the creation of a “day rate” in comedy variety, to their stonewalling on free work for screenwriters and on AI for all writers, they have closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership.
It appears that prior WGA labor contracts have not addressed the role of artificial intelligence when it comes to screenwriting, as summaries from the WGA’s own website describing the gains achieved by the Union in labor negotiations dating back to 1941.[12] The WGA appears to have settled in to a pattern of 3-year collective bargaining agreements, which is a normal length of time for a labor agreement. The WGA’s prior labor negotiation was in 2020, and the WGA boasted an increase in the pension contribution, paid parental benefit, and compensation gains, but no discussion of the role of artificial intelligence.[13]
The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG AFTRA) has raised similar concerns, releasing a statement in March 2023 its position regarding the use of artificial intelligence in media:
The terms and conditions involving rights to digitally simulate a performer to create new performances must be bargained with the union. In addition, any use or reuse of recorded performances is limited by our collectively bargained contract provisions, including those requiring consent and negotiation of compensation.
…
We follow the newest developments in AI technology, its uses in the entertainment and media industries, and the evolving legal landscape. We will continue to negotiate and enforce provisions around these technologies and their uses so employers and performers can work collaboratively. [14]
Similarly, it appears from the SAG AFTRA statement on artificial intelligence that only some, but not all, of its labor contracts address artificial intelligence, making it a likely point of contention when SAG AFTRA renegotiates its various labor agreements.
The WGA proposal would prevent feeding old episodes of Family Guy to a program such as ChatGPT to generate a new script. The proposal would preclude having the program to write (or rewrite) any new scripts. It would ostensibly prevent using artificial intelligence to write quick late-night punchlines or sitcom catchphrases. But artificial intelligence is not without issues. Among the criticism for popular artificial intelligence programs: it gives wrong answers;[15] demonstrates bias;[16] and that it lacks depth and meaning, never truly comprehending what the words it generates actually mean.[17] Whether artificial intelligence could truly replace or surpass human creativity remains to be seen.
Artificial intelligence clearly presents a variety of quickly evolving issues for employers, especially employers with a unionized workforce. As the WGA strike starts into its second week, labor law enthusiasts will be anxiously waiting to see how the artificial intelligence issue is resolved.
[1] Writers Guild of America Calls Strike, Effective Tuesday, May 2, Writers Guild of Am. W., May 1, 2023, https://www.wga.org/news-events/news/press/writers-guild-of-america-calls-strike-effective-tuesday-may-2.
[2] Id.
[3] All the TV Shows and Movies Affected by the WGA Writers Strike (Updating), William Earl & Meredith Woerner, Variety, May 2, 2023, https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/tv-shows-movies-affected-wga-writers-strike-2023-1235601094/.
[4] Id.
[5] https://deadline.com/2023/05/writers-strike-hacks-production-paused-for-duration-1235356861/
[6] WGA on Strike, Strike Rules FAQ, https://www.wgacontract2023.org/strike/strike-rules-faq (last accessed May 9, 2023).
[7] Steven Greenhouse, Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor 145 (2019).
[8] Id.
[9] Id. at 12.
[10] Writers Guild of Am., WGA Negotiation—Status as of May 1, 2023, https://www.wga.org/uploadedfiles/members/member_info/contract-2023/WGA_proposals.pdf (last accessed May 9, 2023).
[11] Id.
[12] WGA on Strike, A History of WGA Contract Negotiations and Gains, March 13, 2023, https://www.wgacontract2023.org/the-campaign/a-history-of-wga-contract-negotiations-and-gains
[13] Id.
[14] SAG AFTRA, SAG-AFTRA Statement on the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Doubles in Media and Entertainment, March 17, 2023, https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-statement-use-artificial-intelligence-and-digital-doubles-media-and-entertainment.
[15] Kevin Rose, NY Times, How ChatGPT Kicked Off an A.I. Arms Race, Feb. 3, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/technology/chatgpt-openai-artificial-intelligence.html.
[16] Id.
[17] Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, ChatGPT is Dumber Than You Think, Dec. 7, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/chatgpt-openai-artificial-intelligence-writing-ethics/672386/.