ARTICLE · 29 MAY 2023

Automating Entertainment: Writers Demand That Studios Not Use AI

Squire Patton Boggs LLP

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When the Writers Guild of America (WGA) came with their list of demands in the strike that has already grinded production on many shows to a halt, chief among them was that the studios agree...

United StatesIntellectual Property

Susie Ruiz-Lichter

When the Writers Guild of America (WGA) came with their list of demands in the strike that has already grinded production on many shows to a halt, chief among them was that the studios agree not to use artificial intelligence to write scripts. Specifically, the Guild had two asks: First, they said that "literary material," including screenplays and outlines, must be generated by a person and not an AI; Second, they insisted that "source material" not be AI-generated.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers(AMPTP), which represents the studios, rejected this proposal. They countered that they would be open to holding annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology. Alarm bells sounded as the WGA saw an existential threat to their survival and that Hollywood was already planning for it.

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