The Mary Sue: SAG-AFTRA has declared the strike to be over in the interim between the agreement being made and the official vote on it, but some members are calling for union members to keep resisting, saying the agreement is unfair. The hashtag #SAGAFTRAvoteNo is trending on Twitter (X), with scores of performers posting explanations on why the union should still resist settling the deal.
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It is frustrating to hear that AMPTP has made the agreement to still allow AI use without proper compensation. It is unfair and unethical that background actors will only be paid for one day when their image can be used for the rest of their lives. This is incredibly problematic and will mean that there will be less jobs and opportunities for up-and-coming actors. I completely agree that there is definitely still more for actors and SAG-AFTRA to fight for. There is no reason why they should just accept this. I did not know that there was still a possibility for the union to resist setting the deal, but if there is, they definitely should “vote no.” Making sure that AI was not taking over their jobs was one of SAG-AFTRA’s main goals. It was a goal of theirs to make sure that all members of the union were being fairly compensated for their work. Thus, agreeing to these parameters does not necessarily follow the true goals of this strike.
When I first heard the strike was "over", I took the headline at face value and started seeing actors promoting their movies again. I did not understand what had actually happen though, and hearing about it made me upset. I had not seen anything about AI still on the table, and the fact that SAG accepted a deal that left AI an option for studios to use is really a shame. The use of AI taking actors likenesses and using it without their express consent for each use is a big problem, but also can lead to problems with audiences as well. A good example of this was for Rogue One with Carrie Fisher's likeness being used after her passing, and it just did not look good. I feel like the use of AI generation in films should not only upset actors being used, but also actors who may have been able to jump into a role but instead was just computerized. I understand that it hurts the actors being on strike to continue doing so, but this was such a big piece of the strike that it's a shame they moved on with a deal that did not include it.
I'm sorry to hear that so many people are unhappy with the sag-aftra agreement. We knew that AI was going to be a huge part of this as well as streaming but it is disappointing to hear how little constraints have been placed on AI use. As is mentioned in the article, AI is coming for other industries. It's only a matter of time and it is going to get worse. I was thinking about while reading another article About and I replacing voice actors was how AI will never Have the same authenticity as a human being does. Maybe I'm underestimating the power of programming and computers learning from source material, but a computer will not understand inflections and the undertones text have the same way an actor does. I also think that now more than ever in a society that has become so online that people want that human connection.
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