Susan Sarandon talked about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in Hollywood and why it was different for those she referred to as generations of kids who have grown up with realistic video game characters.
The 77-year-old actor opened up about the ongoing actors strike after the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists voted to strike three months ago over a variety of issues, one which has to do with what she called the “threat of artificial intelligence” on actors’ careers, calling it “a now or never situation,” the Hollywood Reporter reported.
“It scares me if it means taking someone’s image, using it in perpetuity in any film you want without the actor having control anymore,” Sarandon said. “Going in this direction, I don’t know if we should copyright our voices or ourselves.”
Susan Sarandon on the SAG-AFTRA Strike: “This Is a Now or Never Situation” https://t.co/wbHsIJgFcu
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 10, 2023
“I think people want to see the humanity that is perceived on the screen,” she added. “There are generations of children who grew up playing video games where the characters seem almost real. And maybe it won’t be an insult to them to see computer-generated images of actors doing things they have no power over.”
“I think maybe artificial intelligence would be better suited for the role of CEO,” the Hollywood superstar continued. “It could analyze everything and make decisions based on sales.”
The “Step Mom” star said we are just at the beginning of AI and “as time goes on, everything will become more and more complicated and with fewer and fewer rights for artists.”
One of the sticking points that initially led (SAG-AFTRA) to join the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) strike in July was the studios’ response to artists concerns to institute “protections against the existential threat AI poses to their careers,” the Hollywood Reporter noted.
While writers worried that studios’ use of things like ChatGPT — to write or rewrite scripts — would take away jobs from producers, writers and more, the actors are more concerned with their images and voices being digitally reproduced and used without their consent in future projects. WGA officially ended their strike on October 10 after the writers ratified a proposed three-year contract that addressed writers’ concerns.
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