The ways influencers create content and engage with their followers has become a vital engine of digital commerce. But at their core, influencers are gig workers who are operating in a space that is often unregulated and unprotected. This discussion will cover the innovative new ways influencers are monetizing their social media, the organizing efforts that led to SAG-AFTRA’s groundbreaking new agreement and the reasons why supporting the influencer community is needed now more than ever.

Moderator: Ray Rodriguez

“Data is the New Oil” is a catchphrase these days, and companies are seeking to refine the data they collect on customers and workers to maximize their profits. Their data gathering prowess can also be used for more unsavory pursuits. 

In the context of the organizing campaign at Amazon in Alabama, this panel will explore the impacts of the quest for data on workers, in terms of surveillance, control, discrimination, and discouraging unionization, and how workers can push back through organizing, bargaining, and legislation.

A discussion focusing on the experiences and lessons learned in key sectors including education, healthcare and retail grocery, how innovation and the pandemic have changed work and impacted frontline employees, and how some shifts–should they become normalized post-COVID–may present long term challenges for work, workers and services that are critical to all of us.

Moderator: Ryan Heath

Panelists: Bonnie Castillo, Mark Perrone, Liz Shuler, Randi Weingarten

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler delivers a presentation on the technological change that is happening all around us. Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotics and automation, the Internet of Things and more are impacting the workplace in every sector of the economy. 

Instead of diminishing the quality of jobs, crushing worker voice and worsening wage and wealth inequality, the AFL-CIO sees technological evolution as an opportunity for unions to be at the center of a future filled with good jobs and new worker power.

A one-on-one conversation between SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris and Tristan Harris, Co-Founder of the Center of Humane Technology, about the attention economy, humane technology and the future of work.

Missed CES this year? We've got you covered with this quick look at 10 game changers that will shape the future of entertainment technology. 

Presented by SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Rebecca Damon and SAG-AFTRA National Innovation & New Technology Committee Members: Aubrey Mozino, Dileep Rao and Ben Whitehair.

We’ll discuss the shift to working from home, organizing from home and how games and streaming have been a source of comfort during the pandemic. Our guests will also delve into how and why VO performers who have traditionally worked in video games and animation have found new opportunities in dubbing due to organizing efforts and the 2019 Netflix Agreement.

Moderator: David Errigo, Jr.

Panelists: Sarah Elmaleh & Xander Mobus

What are deepfakes and why should you care? This update from Danielle Van Lier, SAG-AFTRA Assistant General Counsel, will provide a brief introduction to deepfakes technology and current legal efforts to address some of its potential harms.

Technology is changing the entertainment landscape at a rapid pace, with holograms and digital humans more prevalent than ever. In this discussion, we’ll explore how volumetric video technology is being used today and possible future use cases; how it can enable performers to secure more earnings and continued work; and the ethics and legalities surrounding use of digital name and likenesses.