Artificial intelligence is shaking up every industry, but Hollywood isn’t backing down without a fight. As AI development companies continue to push boundaries, actors and artists are demanding more transparency, accountability, and protection for their work.
Just last week, OpenAI and Google made waves by arguing that copyright protections shouldn’t apply to AI development. They claim generative AI models create something new and different from existing works, so they shouldn’t need permission to train on books, music, and movies. This stance has sparked a heated debate over intellectual property rights and the future of creative industries.
California lawmakers, backed by Hollywood unions, are stepping into the fight. Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) has introduced the AI Copyright Transparency Act (AB 412), a bill designed to force AI development software companies to disclose when they train generative AI models using copyrighted material.
While AB 412 doesn’t resolve the ongoing legal debate over fair use, it aims to ensure that artists, writers, and performers at least know when their work is being used to fuel AI advancements.
“When Scarlett Johansson’s voice is coming out of an AI model, shouldn’t the people who own the copyrights to her films know if that’s why it sounds like her?” Bauer-Kahan said, referencing Johansson’s public dispute with OpenAI over claims that the company replicated her voice without permission.
The bill is backed by SAG-AFTRA, the Creative Artists Agency, and the National Association of Voice Actors, all of whom have been vocal about protecting performers from AI-driven exploitation.
The battle over AI in entertainment isn’t new. In 2023, the SAG-AFTRA strike against major studios lasted 118 days, with AI-generative technology being a key sticking point in negotiations. While the union secured some protections, many actors still worry about how the artificial intelligence boom could impact their careers.
Joely Fisher, SAG-AFTRA Secretary-Treasurer, highlighted how AI for artists has evolved rapidly. A few years ago, Carrie Fisher’s posthumous appearance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was groundbreaking. Today, AI development software can synthesise performers’ voices, faces, and acting styles without consent, raising serious ethical and financial concerns.
“We could all be put into one of the blenders, and they could spit out a character that is a little bit of all of us,” Fisher warned.
Not everyone supports regulating AI in this way. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the California Chamber of Commerce argue that AB 412 would impose an unrealistic burden on artificial intelligence programmers and researchers.
“AB 412 imposes an impossible new regulatory regime that would cause devastating collateral damage for research and innovation,” said Becca Kramer of Kaiser Advocacy, representing the EFF. She also warned that the bill might actually give Big Tech an advantage, as massive corporations can afford the legal teams and licensing fees to comply, while smaller startups could struggle.
Despite the opposition, the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee has approved AB 412, moving it forward to the Judiciary Committee. If it continues gaining traction, this bill could set a precedent for how AI development companies use AI to train their models—and how they must disclose that information to copyright holders.
California lawmakers aren’t stopping with AB 412. Since the start of the legislative session, they’ve introduced 30 bills related to AI regulation, following up on last year’s efforts where Governor Gavin Newsom signed more than 20 AI-related laws.
As the AI Act and other regulations continue to take shape, the clash between Silicon Valley and Hollywood is far from over. One thing is clear: the fight over AI and copyright is just beginning, and its outcome will impact how we use artificial intelligence in the future.
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