New Writers Guild Agreement Creates Roadmap for the Future of the AI-Writer Relationship
"Much has been said about the historic raises for writers. An underrated aspect of the agreement, however, are the provisions laid out on the use of AI. This stipulation is nothing short of a paradigm shift. AI is only going to become more powerful and more prevalent; the agreement laid out a framework that empowers writers and gives them agency, while not allowing their labor to replaced.
In fact, credit must be given to the WGA for demonstrating foresight here, and setting the use of AI in writers’ rooms on their terms. Under the contract, AI can’t write or rewrite literary material, companies cannot rewire writers to use AI. Even more interestingly, the WGA is now able to reserve the right to assert whether using writers’ material to train AI can be deemed ‘exploitative’.
Broadly this agreement allows writers to choose how and when to use AI, and it disallows studios to dictate the use of artificial intelligence to pinch pennies when they see fit. Let’s be clear: AI can be a useful tool, but it is not — and never will be — a replacement for human experience. In our experience at Passbook, we see AI as a time-saving tool. A story need a small update, or you need to do a quick character swap? AI can help."