--- title: "Screenwriter Union Reportedly Proposes Allowing AI-Written Movies and TV Shows" description: "Amidst ongoing negotiations with studios, reports say that the WGA has proposed allowing the use of AI as long as humans get credit — but we're skeptical." date: "2023-03-23" modified: "2023-03-23" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/writers-guild-proposes-ai-written-screenplays" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "chatgpt" - "movies" - "the digest" - "wga" --- # Screenwriter Union Reportedly Proposes Allowing AI-Written Movies and TV Shows ![]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Fade In The Writers Guild of America, a labor union representing film and TV writers, has proposed allowing the use of AIs like ChatGPT to help write screenplays, [*Variety* reports]() — so long as humans get all the credit. According to *Variety*, WGA's proposal was discussed during ongoing negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the behemoth representative body of studios and production companies. However, nothing is set in stone yet— and some are urging caution over this tentative info, which is emerging amidst the backdrop of a tense negotiation process. "The WGA is in a media blackout during negotiations and anything you are reading in the trades, which directly depend on advertising from and access to the companies, is leaked from the companies," [tweeted]() John Rogers, a TV and film writer. "Take anything with a grain of salt." ## Writer's Toolbox Rather than completely banning AI, as some had hoped when it became clear that the guild was interested in regulating its usage [last month](), the alleged proposal would allow writers to use the technology without having to share residuals, the compensation a writer receives from a production. If, for example, a studio exec hands an AI-generated script to a human writer to touch-up and edit, the writer would still get credit as the first author, meaning they'd get more residuals. Essentially, the guild's proposal would treat AI as a tool rather than an author, which could spare writers the headache of battling software companies over who gets how much credit. If WGA has its way, AI-generated writing would not be considered "literary material" nor "source material." The former describes what a writer actually puts to paper, while "source material" encompasses any media a screenplay is adapted from or based on. Crucially, since an AI's prose wouldn't even qualify as "source material," a human writer adapting it could still earn a lofty "written by" credit, entitling them to full residuals. Notably, as far as we know, the proposal does not address a screenplay completely written by an AI without human intervention. ## The Full Picture That being said, the proposal — and the negotiations at large — are being kept under wraps, so we don't really know how much credence to lend this perspective, which could very well be what the monopolizing studios want you to hear, as [some writers]() [have warned]() in response to the news. And given the [rumblings of a writers' strike on the horizon](), undermining the WGA's cohesion would play right into the hands of goliath studios. Nevertheless, true or not, at some point or another the guild will have to address the use of AI. Taken at face value, these protections simply would not be enough, and likely wouldn't prevent studios from trying to wholesale undercut the value of writers' labor — not to mention the [abhorrent plagiarism]() generative AIs [are often guilty of]() that could pose thorny legal and ethical issues. **More on AI:** *[Watch Out, Folks: AI Image Generators Can Do Hands Now]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()