--- title: "Strike Ends With Writers Guild Forcing Concessions on AI" description: "After five back-to-back days of talks, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has officially reached an agreement with Hollywood studios, ending a five-month strike. Writers are officially back at work as of today. And while better residuals, health and pension contributions, and pay increases are unquestionably a big win for the Guild, things get a […]" date: "2023-09-27" modified: "2023-09-27" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/strike-ends-writers-forcing-concessions-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai writing" - "artificial intelligence" --- # Strike Ends With Writers Guild Forcing Concessions on AI ![The Writers Guild of America has officially reached an agreement with Hollywood studios, determining that an AI isn't a "writer."]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* After a five-month strike, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has [officially reached an agreement]() with Hollywood studios. Writers are officially back at work. And while better residuals, health and pension contributions, and pay increases are unquestionably a big win for the Guild, things get a little murkier when it comes to artificial intelligence. AI quickly turned into a contentious part of the WGA's negotiations over the past five months, with studios keen on leveraging the technology. The fear, of course, was — and still is — that studios could start replacing human writers with AI technologies like ChatGPT, directly undermining their livelihoods. As per a [summary]() of the new bargaining agreement published by the WGA, "AI can’t write or rewrite literary material, and AI-generated material will not be considered source material." In many ways, that's a big win for the union, making it impossible for any writing generated by an AI to be considered literary material, since an AI can't be considered a "writer." After all, that's what the WGA had been [demanding]() from the start. Interestingly, writers still reserve the right to access these tools, with the caveat that employers such as movie or TV studios allow this kind of use. Studios will also have to tell writers if any materials they're working with were AI-generated. More importantly, the new agreement stipulates that employers should avoid training AI on writers' material, highlighting [growing concerns]() and lawsuits over possible copyright infringement by companies like OpenAI. However, the wording doesn't amount to an outright ban, as [*ABC* points out](), with the WGA reserving "the right to assert that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI." It's a thorny debate, and the conversation surrounding whether companies like OpenAI are actually breaking copyright law by scanning existing works is only getting started. In other words, the notably vague wording of the WGA's new agreement shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Courts are only beginning to grapple with the legal implications of the tech. In short, asserting that a writer is being exploited by having their writing be used to train an AI is very different from banning the practice outright, and it remains to be seen whether writers will have legal recourse in th**o**se cases going forward. Nonetheless, many writers, even outside of the Guild, are calling the new agreement a [big success]() [on social media](). "As an author, I genuinely want to kiss the feet of the WGA who got the studios to commit that AI isn't writing," author Jennifer Lacopelli [tweeted](). "Stuff like this tends to trickle down through industries." "This is good," sci-fi writer James Yu [wrote](). "AI is a tool that empowers writers, and writers get to choose when to use it." Now, writers are officially back to work and it's only a matter of time we'll see shows return to TV. "Welcome to your first day back at work," TV writer Lisa Cullen, president of WGA East, [tweeted](). "As you fire up your laptops, you do so with more job protections, financial payouts, advancement opportunities and AI guardrails than you've ever had before." The Screen Actors Guild, however, is still on strike and even voted to [authorize a strike]() against video game companies this week. Where those negotiations will land when it comes to the use of AI remains to be seen. **More on the strike:** *[Screenwriter Union Reportedly Proposes Allowing AI-Written Movies and TV Shows]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()