SAG-AFTRA applauded the Trump administration’s new artificial intelligence policy framework, declaring Thursday that it “strongly supports” the initiative as they believe members “deserve protection.”
“SAG-AFTRA welcomes the administration’s National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence and its recognition that America’s leadership in AI must go hand in hand with strong protections for human creativity,” the union said in a statement Thursday. “Our members’ performances, voices and likenesses are not raw material to be used without consent; they are the product of human talent and labor, and they deserve protection.”
It continued: “We agree that disputes over the unauthorized training of AI models on copyrighted works should be adjudicated by the courts without the need for new legislation.”
As SAG-AFTRA went on, it noted that the union appreciated the framework’s recognition that “workers must share in the benefits of AI,” adding, “We also believe that free-market licensing must continue to thrive, combined with SAG-AFTRA’s ability to collectively bargain for appropriate licensing terms and fair revenue shares.”
Per the union, these specific principles will only better serve the creative community, as it ensures responsible AI development.
“Finally, we strongly support the framework’s call for Congress to pass federal legislation against digital replica abuse while maintaining strong First Amendment safeguards,” the statement concluded. “Individuals need control in a world awash with digital clones, but that control cannot harm the freedom of expression our industry relies upon to entertain and inform the world. Congress should move swiftly to enact the bipartisan NO FAKES Act.”
SAG-AFTRA’s comments follow a similar endorsement from the Motion Picture Association, which saw Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin declaring that he and the MPA welcomed the administration’s recommendations on how to deal with AI.
“The MPA welcomes the Trump administration’s National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, which encourages our nation’s ongoing leadership in both creativity and innovation,” Rivkin said in a statement to TheWrap last week. “Strong copyright protections and innovation are mutually reinforcing and must continue to be in the age of AI.”
On March 20, Trump’s White House issued a framework of policies for AI, sharing at the time that the system aimed to establish uniform national standards for AI regulation while preempting states from enacting their own rules.
As we previously reported, the six-pronged outline proposes regulations on AI products and infrastructure, ranging from child safety rules to standardizing permitting and energy use of AI data centers.
The update unsurprisingly struck a chord with the MPA and SAG-AFTRA, as both have been vocal advocates for AI guardrails in Hollywood. Namely, as studios push to embrace AI, creatives have voiced concern as their work and likeness have been co-opted by AI companies to train its models — which many believe is a clear copyright infringement.
Nonetheless, Trump’s plan has drawn some criticism for its attempt to override different sets of AI protections introduced by state laws. Specifically, the AI companies have argued that the patchwork of laws make it difficult to operate — though, states have defended that their protections are necessary to check potential abuses of the technology.
Back in December, Trump signed an AI executive order preempting state-level AI protections. The president has previously taken an approach that has sided with AI companies, noting in July that he didn’t think it was possible for the tech companies to make payments for all the copyrighted material it uses to train its models.
Still, the White House said it wants Congress to convert the framework into legislation.
