Hollywood Writers Go On Strike To Protest AI Plagiarism and Tedium

In an ironic “plot” twist, Hollywood writers who have spent years writing science fiction scripts featuring robots taking over the world are now “fighting to make sure AI machines do not take their jobs”, according to a Reuters report.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is seeking to restrict the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and image tools like ChatGPT and Dall-E in writing film and television (TV) scripts as part of an ongoing strike.

The decision was made following six weeks of negotiating with @Netflix, @Amazon, @Apple, @Disney, @wbd, @NBCUniversal, @Paramountplus and @Sony under the umbrella of the AMPTP.

— Writers Guild of America West (@WGAWest) May 2, 2023

The development comes amid increasing concerns over the impacts of AI on humanity with popular personalities like Elon Musk calling for proper regulation before the tech is “in control.

The WGA strike brought Hollywood’s 15 years of labor peace to an end on Tuesday as more than 11,500 films and TV writers went on strike bringing production houses to a halt.

The strike had also dealt a blow to an industry that has faced challenges in the recent past, particularly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and far-reaching technological changes.

But in particular, the WGA statement highlights two main issues: they are against “the companies’ behavior” to create a “gig economy inside a union workforce”, and studios’ hard stance in this negotiation which “has betrayed a commitment to further devaluing the profession of writing.”

The WGA further criticizes the production houses for failure guarantee continued work to writers saying:
From their unwillingness to promise any weekly work in episodic TV, to the introduction of a “day rate” in comedy variety, to their refusal to address unpaid work for screenwriters and the use of AI for all writers, they have shut out their workforce and turned writing into a fully freelance job.
The union further emphasized that their members have never contemplated such a deal.

AI Models Are “plagiarism Machines” – WGA Writers

Reuters further highlights more issues that the WGA writers are raising: They don’t want their material to be used as training data for AI models, and they don’t want to be tasked with fixing AI-generated “sloppy first drafts.” WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman said some members have referred to AI as “plagiarism machines.”

The immediate fear of AI isn’t that us writers will have our work replaced by artificially generated content. It’s that we will be underpaid to rewrite that trash into something we could have done better from the start. This is what the WGA is opposing and the studios want.

— C. Robert Cargill (@Massawyrm) May 2, 2023

This is because script writers who are employed to finetune rough drafts are paid at a lower rate, and WGA members are fighting to ensure that AI-generated first drafts would not be counted as “literary material” or “source material,” which are terms defined in their contract.

According to the WGA, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the group representing eight major production houses in the negotiations, rejected its proposal and instead offered “annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology.”

Mark Harris, author of multiple books on American film history, said it is reasonable for screenwriters to fear that studios might one day outsource some of their work to AI-powered machines.

“The producers’ response is, ‘We won’t give an inch on the possibility of replacing you with AI, but we’ll be happy to give you a yearly update on how that’s going”, Harris added.

Some writers have termed the response of the producers as “insulting”.

“We proposed that AI not be used to undermine our work; they rejected our proposal”, writer and comic Adam Conover tweeted adding the refusal by studios is “an insulting counter, just dripping with contempt.”

We proposed that AI not be used to undermine our work; they rejected our proposal, and offered an "annual meeting to discuss advances in technology." Wow, a MEETING?!? Thank you ever so much!!

An insulting counter, just dripping with contempt.

— Adam Conover (@adamconover) May 2, 2023

The industry action is still underway and there is uncertainty about what the outcomes will be.However, it is a significant sign of the growing pains of integrating new technology like generative AI into existing careers.

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