The Striking Writers Have Asked for Support from All Creators

“We are asking our colleagues -- especially those who work as editors on TV, film, and general entertainment verticals - - to join us in adding a short editorial statement to the top of reviews and other critical coverage written and published during the strikes.”

This is the message released by the striking writers and actors represented by the WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) and the SAG (Screen Actors’ Guild). The writers, actors and other creative professionals represented by these unions have asked for help and support.

Should indie authors and other non-union creators give it to them? 

Writers on Strike

 

The writers’ strike has been ongoing since May as the writers, actors and other creative professionals (this includes stunt people, voice actors, etc.) continue to butt heads with studio executives and media owners, such as Netflix and Paramount…and Disney, and NBC Universal and all of them.

Unions have the power to go on strike at any time, though it typically happens when the union and the company that employs the union (in this case, Hollywood producers and distributors) cannot come to terms on new contracts. This is the case with the WGA. Contract negotiations between the two sides broke down, and this launched the strike.

But this strike is not simply about how much money screenwriters earn. They also have significant concerns about AI software and how it will be applied to their writing, going forward. Actors have a similar concern regarding their likenesses and AI software’s ability to take those likenesses and create entirely new content using them.

The way AI writing software is used, and how human writers are going to be compensated for their writing, is a huge issue that affects all writers of all kinds in every single industry. AI software can now write books. As if things weren’t already difficult enough for indie authors.

A Show of Support

Because this issue is so huge and because negotiations have hardly gotten anywhere by the end of August, more than three months after the strike first began, the WGA has asked for a show of support from all creators of all types of content.

How can you help? First, you can post the script provided by the WGA on any and all content you create, so long as you are at liberty to do so according to your publisher. But beyond that, you can also refuse to accept any jobs or gigs or projects that would normally be completed by a union writer or actor.

The WGA and SAG have also asked creators to refrain from creating content based on content previously created by them that is being released during the strike. Discussing the latest movie or TV show on YouTube or in a blog post, for example, is something like a digital version of crossing the picket line, according to those on strike. If they are not being properly compensated for their work and cannot receive proper compensation for their work going forward, they ask that no one attempt to make money off of their work. After all, that’s exactly what the studios are attempting to do -- make money off the backs of writers and actors without meeting their demands as far as AI writing and video software is concerned.

The WGA has gone on record saying that content creators who virtually or physically cross picket lines and continue to create content they have been asked not to create will never, at any point in the future, be invited to join the WGA.

As of the writing of this piece, only WGA writers are allowed to produce scripts for movies and TV shows made in the U.S., no matter which part of the country they are made in.

What the Writer Strike is All About and What it Means to Indie Authors

As of the start of the month of August, the Writer's Guild of America has been on strike for 100-plus days. But why should indie authors care?

 

What's the Fight About?

The WGA is a labor union. This gives members of the union the right to collective bargaining. As union employees, the members of the WGA are under contract. When the business entity or entities that a union works for offers a contract that most members of the union do not like and do not want, they can then choose to use their collective bargaining power to force that company or companies to meet the demands of the union by going on strike.

To put it plainly, a majority of the members of the WGA do not like the contract they were offered. Writer's strikes are not uncommon and in the past, the WGA has used their right to strike in order to get more money for their work.

But this strike is very different. This strike is about money, sure, but it's also about a much deeper issue that affects all writers everywhere, union and indie alike: AI writing software.

How the WGA is Standing Up to ChatGPT and AI Writing

AI has been creeping into storytelling for several years. When Netflix recommends new movies and shows to you, that's AI at work. When Harrison Ford gets to be younger than he is in a film that's AI, too. Now, programs like ChatGPT are capable of writing movie scripts, TV show episodes. Blog posts, articles, novels. And that's why this issue touches all writers. Soon, directors won't need scriptwriters because they can simply type some prompts into a software program. Soon, writing a novel could be as simple as coming up with the root of an idea. And this is why the WGA is taking a stand now, and trying to establish some rules and receive compensation when AI is used in place of flesh-and-blood writers.

That makes it a pretty big deal. The Writers Guild of America and now the Screens Actors Guild of America are united on one side of the bargaining table. That is, roughly, all the Hollywood scriptwriters and all the Hollywood actors and actresses. They stand against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. It's the talent versus the bosses, in short.

The writers and creatives say that under the new contracts, producers are seeking permission to use AI to generate new dialogue and create new scenes, extensively changing existing scripts, without the writers' knowledge or consent. As for the actors, they allege that producers are seeking the right to use their digital images and likenesses to create new performances using AI technology.

You can see why the creatives might not like that. And perhaps you can also see how this is a watershed moment for all writers everywhere. What happens in these negotiations could very well set the tone for how writers are compensated regarding AI software going forward, not just in Hollywood but in all industries. What about articles you write online that are significantly altered by AI? Should your name still be on them? Should you receive less compensation because AI was used? 

 

 

There are lots of questions to ask, lots of angles to consider and this is why the strike continues to drag on and on and on. It's brand-new territory and it's playing out right now, in real time. Precedents are being written in the moment. Decisions made today could affect a generation of writers or more.

It's pretty thrilling stuff. Anything brand-new is scary. Once upon a time, seeing the wheel for the first time terrified somebody. Simply using metal to cut a piece of meat was a gigantic innovation. AI writing software could be a civilization-changing innovation…or it could be a flash in the pan, a fad that quickly fades like others have done before. There is no way of knowing what will happen with AI software in the future, which is exactly the point of the strike. Writers and actors are seeking some protections now, some rules and a foundation laid in place now, because AI tools are only going to expand going forward from here.

What's the solution? What's the answer to the problem? Where do you fall in this debate? Plugging the questions into an AI program won't help.

For now, some solutions still take human minds and human words. Eventually, that will be enough to resolve the contract disputes and end the strike. Because for now, humans are still the ones leading the discussion. In a few years, depending on how these talks go today, that might not be the case.