UK Actor And Producer Unions Plead For Government Legislation On AI

UK producer and actor unions Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (Pact) and Equity have pled with their government to set up stricter legislation for AI usage. Both unions are set to have their contract negotiations amongst each other, which has prompted the two organizations to call for regulation.

Pact head John McVay expressed his fear during the Creative Cities Convention that the issue will only get worse before it gets better. To McVay, the UK government has continuously ”kicked the can down the road“ regarding AI legislation. ”On the one hand, you’ve got the government saying ‘let’s wait and see’ but if you go further down the road then they will say ‘we don’t like it, it’s going to go more extreme’. And then they will chill investment,“ McVay mused.

If the government continues to ignore the issue, McVay feels that creativity will be stifled by uncontrollable greed and data collection. In addition to moral concerns, McVay noted that unregulated AI could have negative economic effects. ”Selling IP is at the heart of our audiovisual economy and if that is damaged then my members don’t work, and writers and directors don’t get paid,“ McVay proposed. With so many people out of work, McVay believed that the economy would collapse.

Equity president Lynda Rooke concurred with these concerns and wants more legislation to help bring consent to the foreground of the conversation. Without this concern for consent, ”[p]eople’s work is being hoovered up by data mining.” Brooke expounded, “They are unaware of it, and it is really important we get this sorted.“

Even though Brooke admires the tools that Paramount displayed at another panel, she still feels AI could easily strip the world of creativity. Because of this, she warns everyone in the film industry to avoid free tools since they can ”put your thing out there to the world and mean it won’t be your IP.“

Though it’s unclear how these requests will endure, Pact and Equity have no issue fighting for their creative freedom in a constantly changing landscape.