Billboard Women in Music 2024
SAG-AFTRA President Duncan Crabtree Ireland said during a wide-ranging Q&A at SXSW in Austin, Texas on Saturday that issues surrounding the use of AI in the production process are at the forefront of SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations with major video game companies. The most important point is.
Crabtree Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator of the Performers’ Union, said he thought there was a 50-50 chance of union members striking against major game companies, or more likely, in the next four years. I will go on strike. For six weeks because of our failure to get past those issues,” Crabtree Ireland told Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan during an AI-focused conversation.
In September, about 98% of SAG-AFTRA members voted to authorize a strike against major video game producers, including Activision (now part of Microsoft), Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Take Two and WB Games. are
The union leader acknowledged that there are strong opinions and divisions within SAG-AFTRA’s more than 160,000 members about how to deal with the threat to human performers posed by emerging AI and generative AI tools. Some urged the union to call for a complete ban on the use of AI in union-run productions. Crabtree Ireland said he knew it was a non-starter.
“We don’t succeed, no union in history has succeeded in stopping technology,” he said. “Unions that try this approach fail and miss out on the opportunity to influence how these technologies are implemented. “The fact of the matter is, we have AI. going to happen.”
Crabtree-Ireland repeatedly emphasized that the union’s position on AI revolves around “consent and compensation” for its members when AI engines use their work. “We want to make sure that implementation is human-centered and focused on scaling up. [of production]not a substitute for people,” he said.
AI provisions established in SAG-AFTRA’s hard-fought film and TV contracts last year help set the template for video game contracts. But gaming also has its own unique problems because of how content is developed over long periods of time.
Crabtree-Ireland said the biggest Hollywood studios had hoped to address questions about regulating AI at least until the 2026 round of master contract negotiations. “They thought they could get through this cycle without making a substantial deal on AI,” he said.
Negotiators for the Union of Motion Picture and Television Producers were stunned when SAG-AFTRA brought a detailed AI proposal into the negotiating room on June 27. By July 14, SAG-AFTRA began a work stoppage that lasted until November 8. The union leader noted that video game producers should not underestimate the level of concern members have around AI and their determination to strike if necessary.
“We don’t want to go on strike,” Crabtree Ireland said. “But we’re not going to enter into contracts with companies that don’t protect our members from abusive and exploitative use of AI.”
As for film and TV production, Crabtree Ireland said the focus is on finding productive uses for the technology that don’t threaten jobs. At the moment, he sees major studios “using dubbing to streamline their production process, rather than full composition to replace actors,” he said. To be sure. [any] Copying occurs with informed consent and fair compensation.”