SAG-AFTRA calls explicit A.I. images of Taylor Swift that are circulating on social media “upsetting, harmful, and deeply concerning.”
09.01.2024 - 22:04 / variety.com
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA signed a deal on Tuesday with an AI voiceover studio that sets terms for the use of artificial intelligence in video games. The union announced the deal with Replica Studios on Tuesday at CES in Las Vegas. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s executive director, said that the terms include informed consent for the use of AI to create digital voice replicas, as well as requirements for the safe storage of digital assets.
At a press conference, Crabtree-Ireland said the union wants to channel emerging technology to benefit performers — rather than trying to stand in the way. “These are the kind of terms that producers can agree to without disrupting their ability to make content,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “This is an evolutionary step forward.
AI technology is not something we can block. It’s not something we can stop. That’s not a tactic or a strategy that’s ever worked for labor in the past.” AI was a major issue in the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
The union ultimately reached a deal with the major studios — represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — that established consent and compensation requirements for the use of AI to replicate actors’ likenesses. The deal did not block studios from training AI systems to create “synthetic” actors that bear no resemblance to real performers. SAG-AFTRA is now engaged in a similar negotiation with a coalition of major video game studios.
The union has obtained a strike authorization vote, though talks continue. Crabtree-Ireland said that agreement with Replica Studios could help spur those discussions. “I hope the video game companies will take this as an inspiration to help us move forward in that negotiation,” he
.SAG-AFTRA calls explicit A.I. images of Taylor Swift that are circulating on social media “upsetting, harmful, and deeply concerning.”
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer SAG-AFTRA spoke out Friday against pornographic AI images of Taylor Swift that have been circulating on social media, and reiterated support for legislation to outlaw such images. The actors’ union called the images “upsetting, harmful and deeply concerning.” “The development and dissemination of fake images — especially those of a lewd nature — without someone’s consent must be made illegal,” the union said. “As a society, we have it in our power to control these technologies, but we must act now before it is too late.” The performers’ union has been following this issue for years, and has previously expressed support for state and federal laws that would make it illegal to distribute “deepfake” pornographic images that replicate someone’s likeness without consent.
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