February 2, 2024
On February 2, DGA General Counsel David Dreyfus represented the Guild at a roundtable discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI) held by Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA).
Issa, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet, brought together the voices of various industries including those on the forefront of AI development as well as creatives and business professionals concerned about the potential threats of emergent AI technologies. Dreyfus expressed, similar to what the DGA stated in filings with the U.S. Copyright Office, that the Guild is in a unique position to opine on numerous AI issues related to motion picture production. The DGA strongly believes in the protection of our members’ creative works from unauthorized distortion or alteration, and that there needs to be transparency about content used to train AI models. Dreyfus argued there must be fair compensation for the reuse of DGA members’ works by AI models, particularly where the content produced competes with our members’ original works. The DGA’s presence at the roundtable served as an important counter-balance to the opinions asserted by some of the other organizations present. While the DGA acknowledges AI will continue to develop and be a useful tool in motion picture production, that technological innovation should be done with reasonable safeguards in place.
The recent BA/FLTTA contract achieved by the Guild includes new provisions confirming that generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by DGA members and requiring the studios to meet with the Guild periodically to discuss issues related to AI.