AI threat to Hollywood: studios already working on digital extras

The strike of screenwriters and actors continues in the United States in favor of better working conditions and wages. And another worrying problem has become the reason for the current protests: Hollywood has plans to replace extras with digitized versions created by Artificial Intelligence. And this process of scanning and digitizing actors' images has already begun.

Actors protest against AI in Hollywood

To announce that they were joining the screenwriters' strike, the actors took part in a press conference. On that occasion, they accused the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) of proposing to extras that they authorize the digitization of their image receiving only one day's pay for one day's work.

The information was shared by Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The union currently has about 160,000 members among television and film actors. According to Crabtree-Ireland, the AMPTP's proposal is to allow production companies to become the owners of these digitized images of extras, and they can use them as many times as they want without having to pay any extra compensation.

In response to the SAG-AFTRA leadership's accusations, AMPTP spokesman Scott Rowe sent out a statement denying that the information is true.

"The claim made today by SAG-AFTRA leadership that digital replicas of extras can be used in perpetuity without consent or compensation is false.

In fact, the current AMPTP proposal only allows a company to use a digital replica of an extra in the film for which he or she was hired. Any other use requires consent and negotiation of use, subject to a minimum fee."

Body scanning has already begun and it worries extras

The use of Artificial Intelligence to create and work on replicas remains one of the main talking points in the strike. However, several extras report that studios have already begun the process of body scanning to create the digital copies.

In an interview with NPR, extra Alexandria Rubalcaba revealed that she and dozens of extras who worked on the Disney+ series WandaVision (2021) had their bodies scanned. In front of several cameras, they were instructed to adopt different postures and facial expressions for about 15 minutes. From there, their digital replicas were created. However, before going through this process, none of the extras were told what it was all about.

The use of technology to replicate people in film and television productions is not new. However, the vast new resources of Artificial Intelligence leave actors concerned about the future of their profession and how their images can be used.

Before, major studios could create crowds using only a few dozen actors to replicate them in distant images. Now, AI makes it possible to recreate an actor's image in a new scene, substitute dialogue and even create conversations with the person's voice. It is precisely this possibility of "cloning" someone that makes extras fear that their work will become obsolete in the near future.

Struggle to create standards for the use of AI

According to Andrew Susskind, a producer and director for 30 years and associate professor at Drexel University, studios could save a lot by using AI. The savings would come, for example, from reducing food and wardrobe costs on shoots. But it is the fact that there are still no rules for the use of AI in this context that worries actors in terms of their pay and the right to use their footage.

In an interview with NPR, Susskind said actors, extras and screenwriters are right to see this strike, the biggest since the 1960s, as their best chance to create standards for AI use. "And the people who act in the background, who are often disempowered and mistreated, need to stand up for themselves," Susskind said.

Several testimonials continue to emerge from actors who have already undergone the body scanning process. Amid the situation, the AMPTP maintains that its images will only be used or reused with the actor's permission and "fair compensation," referring to payment for the use of the image. However, no official rules have yet been established for the use of AI in film and television.