Entertainers union SAG-AFTRA is celebrating a significant victory this week with the passage of a bill that will regulate the use of artificial intelligence in local showbiz.
The California Senate on Tuesday passed Assembly Bill 2602, a bill that would ban employers from using AI-generated digital replicas in place of human performers under certain circumstances.
If the bill becomes law, employers would not be able to use an AI version of a performer's voice or likeness if it replaces the performer's voice or likeness to perform work that the performer could have done in person, if the employment contract does not specify how the digital replica will be used (if the use deviates from already agreed terms), or if the performer did not have a lawyer or union representative at the time the contract was signed.
The bill, which passed 37-1, now heads to the Governor's Office, where Gov. Gavin Newsom will decide whether to sign it into law.
“We are thrilled that AB 2602, one of our top legislative priorities, has passed in California,” said Duncan Crabtree Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator for the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Entertainers.
“This bill is a major step forward as it protects not only SAG-AFTRA performers, but all performers,” Crabtree Ireland said.
“In an age of digital reproduction, voice and likeness rights must have strong guardrails around licensing to protect them from abuse. This bill provides those guardrails.”
AB 2602 is one of three bills that SAG-AFTRA helped draft that are part of an effort to enshrine AI protections for actors into law. Some tech companies have opposed the bill and urged caution against overregulation.
The union fight for AI regulation has spilled onto the picket lines this week, as striking video game workers continue to pressure developers to meet their demands.
Performers who do voice-over and motion-capture work in the video game industry took part in a demonstration outside the Warner Bros. campus in Burbank on Wednesday as part of an ongoing contract campaign.
AI was also a major issue in last year's writers' and actors' strike.
“SAG-AFTRA is terminating this contract to ensure that our members who work in interactive media (video games) can continue to earn a living doing the work they love,” the union said in a statement.
“Our members' work and likeness are being misused by artificial intelligence, and video game companies are refusing to offer a fair deal that addresses this existential threat.”
The video game company expressed disappointment that the union decided to call a strike when the two sides were “very close to an agreement,” and insists it is “open to resuming negotiations.”
“We have worked hard to propose reasonable terms that protect the rights of our performers, allow us to continue using cutting-edge technology and deliver a great entertainment experience to our fans,” Audrey Couling, a spokeswoman for the games company, said in a statement Wednesday.
Times reporter Wendy Lee contributed to this report.
