The WGA Strike: Why Are Hollywood's Writers Afraid Of AI?

After months of highly-publicized striking, the Writer's Guild of America ("WGA") recently ended its labour stoppage after reaching a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers ("AMPTP") on September 24 (the "Agreement"). A few weeks later in the middle of October, 99% of WGA members voted to ratify the Agreement. The reason that WGA members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Agreement was that it put many contentious issues to rest, with WGA securing: a larger share of residuals resulting from foreign streaming, increased compensation for screenwriters, and minimum standards for how many writers must be employed on greenlit TV shows. Perhaps most significantly, in the midst of the negotiations came a potential watershed moment with respect to the role Artificial Intelligence ("AI") will play in the media and entertainment industries for the years to come. Equally timely, the use of AI scans of actors' likenesses, and