The Writers Guild of America has clarified its stance on works created with the help of artificial intelligence (A.I.).
Reports earlier today suggested the WGA might let A.I. tools such as ChatGPT be used in scriptwriting as long as writers still get credit for the result.
The proposal was reportedly made on Monday during a negotiation round with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
Since then however, both the West and East branch of the guild have posted aTwitter thread detailing their proposal to regulate use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies.
The main aim is to ensure A.I. can’t be used to “undermine writers’ working standards including compensation, residuals, separated rights and credits.” According to the posting:
– AI can’t be used as source material, to create MBA-covered writing or rewrite MBA-covered work, and AI-generated text cannot be considered in determining writing credits.
– Writers may not be assigned AI-generated material to adapt, nor may AI software generate covered literary material.
– Whilst a studio can make a writer aware of AI-generated content, it is research material only and has “no role in guild-covered work, nor in the chain of title in the intellectual property.”
As the guild points out, AI software does not create anything per se – it generates a regurgitation of what it’s fed and cannot distinguish between copyright-protected and public domain content.
Therefore: “its output is not eligible for copyright protection, nor can an AI software program sign a certificate of authorship. To the contrary, plagiarism is a feature of the AI process.”
It’s unclear how AMPTP will take to this proposal, but the Writers Guild’s current contract is set to expire on May 1st.
Source: The Verge
