SAG-AFTRA Podcast

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and General Counsel Jeffrey Bennett talk with members about A.I. protections in the 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts.

“Before we started negotiating these terms, the position of the studios was [that] they did not need consent to create replicas. They did not need consent to use replicas … So, if you fast forward from the position that they took as early as January 2023 to the position we now have with these contract terms and some of the legislation that’s coming, we have flipped that whole narrative on its head. They recognize now they can’t do this without consent.”

Jeffrey Bennett

SAG-AFTRA General Counsel

On Dec. 5, eligible SAG-AFTRA members ratified the 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In the time leading up to the ratification vote deadline and afterward, the union answered questions from members about the contracts’ new gains with informational sessions and live Q&As. For many, the agreement’s newest language regarding artificial intelligence and digital replicas remain an important topic of discussion.

This episode is a rebroadcast of a recent Instagram Live session with SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and General Counsel Jeffrey Bennett. Their conversation opens with a discussion on A.I. use in the voiceover and stunt industries, and progresses into a range of different topics, including performers’ right to consent and the union’s ongoing support of emerging legislative bills that expand on intellectual property rights.

Episode introduction by Crabtree-Ireland.

Visit the SAG-AFTRA podcast page at sagaftra.org to hear other podcast episodes. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts or TuneIn to listen to your favorite episodes on the go. 

The views expressed by the guests are their own and not that of SAG-AFTRA. Any mention of products or services does not imply SAG-AFTRA’s endorsement.

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