The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have released statements in response to The Walt Disney Company’s deal with OpenAI that will license hundreds of the company’s characters for use on the AI company’s generative model Sora for both internal and consumer use, with the WGA vowing to meet with the company to “probe” the details of the deal.
The deal excludes characters played by live-action actors whose likeness is prominently featured — a key demand of the actors’ union, which met with Disney and OpenAI about the terms of the agreement — but does allow for “masked, animated or creature characters” like Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and all the characters from Walt Disney Animation and Pixar.
Disney, which is making a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI as part of the deal, is expected to start generating “fan-inspired” videos with permitted characters early next year, with a curated selection of Sora-generated videos being added to Disney+.
“Disney’s deal with OpenAI appears to sanction its theft of our work and cedes the value of what we create to a tech company that has built its business off our backs,” the statement from WGA reads.
As part of the mutual bargaining agreement that ended the 2023 writers’ strike, studios like Disney are required to meet annually with the WGA to discuss advancements in the development and implementation of AI. The guild says it will be invoking that rule to discuss the OpenAI deal with Disney.
“Companies including OpenAI have stolen vast libraries of works owned by the studios and created by WGA members and Hollywood labor to train their artificial intelligence systems. We have repeatedly called for the studios to take legal action to defend the valuable intellectual property we help to create. Disney’s cease and desist letter to Google recognizes this and we will continue to pressure the companies to take action,” the union wrote.
In its statement, SAG-AFTRA says it has had “months of frank discussions” with OpenAI about the union’s demands that actors have control over whether they give consent to AI companies to use their name, likeness, and performances in generative software. The union also said it will monitor the implementation of Disney’s AI software to ensure that it makes good on its promise to “ensure ethical and responsible use of this technology.”
Like WGA, SAG-AFTRA also acknowledged Disney’s cease-and-desist letter sent to Google on Wednesday, alleging “massive scale” copyright infringement of Disney’s IP by the Silicon Valley giant’s AI software. The actors’ union said it “equally objects” to Google’s AI guardrails, calling them “inadequate and must be significantly strengthened.”
“When a platform is told that its tools are enabling large-scale copyright infringement and voice and likeness misappropriation, it has an obligation to act quickly and effectively. SAG-AFTRA expects Google and all AI providers to close these gaps and align their practices with both the law and the rights of performers and all creative talent. We know that they can, and we demand that they do,” the union wrote.
