Hollywood streaming wars affect jobs, calls for more AI legislation from Scarlett Johannson, and data protection legislation for the AI death tech industry
Legislation that protects Hollywood creatives, artists, and the deceased is an ongoing battle as industries across states and countries try, and come to an agreement with government agencies.
Hollywood Fights for Attention with Streamers
Industry experts warn that Hollywood is in trouble with more job losses expected. Hopes of returning to a pre-epidemic, pre-strike, and pre-streaming wars film market have been dashed since several cinema blockbusters have seen little returns. Mad Max: Furiosa received rave reviews from critics and at festivals like Cannes but that didn’t translate to the filmgoing public. From a budget of $168 million, the box office returned $25.6 million in its opening weekend. Worst still, it was the worst Memorial Day performance in 29 years. Hollywood’s once theatrical film cash cow may end as it competes with numerous streaming platforms for viewer attention. Will Hollywood ever be able to drag our asses off the couch and back into the cinema?
Scarlett Johansson Highlights Need for AI Legislation
Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson highlighted the need for legislation to outlaw AI deep fakes when last month OpenAI released a chatbot that sounded a lot like Johansson. The actress revealed that she was initially approached by OpenAI as the real voice behind the chatbot but had turned down the gig. Over the last year, actors have expressed concerns about their likeness being replaced by AI, and this comes six months after actors agreed to end strikes for better pay and to safeguard against the use of AI.
One of the AI industry’s leading trade groups, the BSA Software Alliance, is urging Congress to pass legislation to protect artists’ likenesses and copyrights and prevent the misuse of digital replicas. SAG-AFTRA has supported the No Fakes Act, which makes it illegal to produce digital replicas without content. Congress has considered several options but has yet to agree on definitive AI regulations. There has been more movement at the state level, such as the Tennessee-adopted law, the ELVIS Act, that makes it illegal to use AI to clone a person’s voice without prior approval. In New York state, The Digital Replica Contracts Act was passed and would protect actors’ likeness and voice from digital replication without consent.
Apple Joins the AI Party
Apple has come late to the AI industry with the launch of Apple Intelligence. The company unveiled a suite of new AI capabilities that will be part of its newest operating system. Hollywood is watching closely, specifically with concerns about Gen AI applications for writing scripts and creating videos. Apple’s new partnership with OpenAI means that applications like ChatGPT will be integrated into its digital assistant Siri, where it will scrape from the internet, other people’s work and ideas.
Ansel Adams Estate Attacks Adobe for Copying Photographer’s Work
The estate of legendary photographer Ansel Adams spoke out against Adobe for selling AI-generated images that mimic the late photographer’s work. On a social media post, the estate attached a screenshot of an image, Nature’s Symphony: Ansel Adams-Style Landscape Photography, which was being sold. However, it is not the first time that Adam’s estate has reached out to Adobe about these concerns, who say that they have not had a response from Adobe since August 2023. Adobe has since made assurances that users who violate copyright will be removed, and have blocked the particular contributor in question.
The Digital Afterlife Industry Haunting Ethical Concerns
The digital afterlife industry has always created ethical concerns about data privacy, permission, and copyright. Recent University of Cambridge research by AI ethicists highlighted what experts, such as myself, have expressed over the past year. Without proper governance, the data that the living upload to Deathtech, chatbot, voice, and avatar replicas could be used to haunt the living. AI platforms like Storyfile, Replika, HereAfterAI, Seance AI, and others use voice recordings, videos, and written content to replicate audio, image, and text conversations of the deceased. Commercial deathtech companies need revenue and it is conceivable that ads could be created around the deceased person’s content. These ethical concerns raise ongoing issues around data privacy, the rights of the dead as well as the digitized dead, and the rights of the living family of the dead.
As it stands, the digital afterlife industry is pretty much unregulated. Some regulations limit the use of AI data used to train large language models (LLMS). More concern has been generated around the use of grief tech, such as chatbots created to replicate the deceased. California and New York have post-mortem publicity laws but these affect celebrities rather than the general public. Data collection and protection practices vary by company in the absence of Federal regulation. Currently, 18 states have enacted consumer data privacy laws but more needs to be done.
Ginger Liu is the founder of Ginger Media & Entertainment, a Writer/Researcher in artificial intelligence and visual arts media — specifically Hollywood, death tech, digital afterlife, AI death and grief practices, AI photography, entertainment, security, and policy, and an author, writer, artist photographer, and filmmaker. Listen to the Podcast — The Digital Afterlife of Grief.
Ginger Liu is a writer who covers the latest developments in artificial intelligence, entertainment, and art.
