Amid the writers and actors strike, Hollywood is set to shut down for the first time since 1960. Maybe we'll be all the better for it.
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Hollywood is set to face its first industry-wide shutdown since 1960.
The Screen Actor Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (the union that represents over 160,000 television and film actors) announced that negotiations between the union and major studios have broken down. Due to this, SAG-AFTRA is set to go on strike with other writers within the industry.
Thursday morning SAG-AFTRA released a statement stating that the union unanimously voted in favor of recommending a strike after the current contract expiration date of midnight that night.
The strike focuses on issues surrounding AI; specifically "digital doubles."
According to virtual humans, "A digital double is a direct recreation of a real human being. Digital doubles can be build from scratch, captured via photogrammetry, or even captured via phone selfie camera."
Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA expressed disappointment with major studios. "We think it is absolutely vital that this negotiation protects not just our likenesses, but makes sure we are well compensated when any of our work is used to train AI."
How did this Start?
Negotiations between studios, writers and actors began during the writers' walkout earlier this year. Writers Unions are concerned that that artificial intelligence in films and TV may phase human writers out.
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