SAG-AFTRA, Tech Innovators and Performers Discuss the Advancement of Technology at CES 2023

At the 2023 CES conference in Las Vegas, SAG-AFTRA member leaders and staff, media industry leaders and forethinkers within the tech sector convened for Future Shock: The Tech & Trends Changing Entertainment. The event, which took place as part of CES’ C Space Studio programming on Jan. 5, spanned three panels: AI Goes to Hollywood, Ad-ventures in Advertainment and Influencers and Actors in the Metaverse. SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Ben Whitehair, National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and staff participated in each of the panels. A livestream of the event was also made available through SAG-AFTRA’s YouTube channel.  

Future Shock gave attendees and viewers an in-depth understanding of the emerging technologies currently impacting the film, television and advertising industries, and entertainers, content creators and influencers. In their discussions, panelists shared insight into how key AI and AR technologies and the metaverse stand to change the industry’s understanding of virtual media, narrative storytelling and influencer marketing. 

“Generative AI, for the first time, is not just [working] to label or categorize data, but to actually create something that didn't exist before. This is so important for Hollywood, because AI can create content in any medium right now — images, text and film — and it will increasingly be used as a foundational building block for all content creation in the future,” said Deepfakes: The Coming Infocalypse author and generative AI expert Nina Schick.

“I think that creators today are pushing the technology, and it's been really cool to see … filmmakers take [these tools] and make something really innovative. Audiences are also so savvy these days with what they do and don’t want to watch that you have to innovate, and I think the next generation of filmmakers really understand that and are starting [to make that shift] with tech,” said Powderkeg Chief Executive Officer and Feigco President Laura Fischer.
 
“When [I] consider the different applications of the metaverse, I point to the idea of your followers turning into your neighbors; you could do things with them that you [can’t] do in regular life. It’s opening a whole new world of collaboration and opportunities that didn’t exist, and I think … this creates infinitely more avenues for inclusion that we’ll be able to use to generate more interactive ideas,” said Calaxy Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Solo Ceesay.

Conversations also provided insight into how technology is leading to paradigm shifts directly affecting the industry’s understanding of image rights, copyright laws and intellectual property, as well as SAG-AFTRA’s ongoing efforts to protect its members and work with entities open to hiring union performers. 

Said Crabtree-Ireland during the AI Goes to Hollywood panel, “What we’re focused on is looking at how [technology] can be implemented in ways that create opportunities for people. That’s not to say we should ignore the challenges present or resist them. Instead, I think what we’re all eager to do, and certainly what SAG-AFTRA is eager to do, is help channel those benefits into a future that’s really beneficial for our members and for the public in general.”

“In the next 10 or 15 years, we [may] see everything being interactive. I love the fact that SAG-AFTRA is helping big producers and production companies [looking to do this type of work]. Everybody's becoming savvy; the audience wants to be involved and as an actor, you have to evolve,” said Mr. Right actor Sam Asghari.

The union’s ongoing presence at CES points to its continued efforts to lead the conversation about technology’s disruption of familiar business models within the industry. In 2021, the union developed its first influencer agreement, a collective bargaining contract designed to meet the demands of the expanding influencer marketing industry, which was valued at $16.4 billion in 2022. Additionally, popular social platforms such as Instagram are witnessing new trends, including micro-influencers — content creators and brand ambassadors with followers in the low thousands — becoming some of the most effective endorsers for products and services for advertisers.

The following year, SAG-AFTRA renewed its Netflix Agreement, the first-of-its-kind contract between a union and a global streaming service. As the successor to the 2019 agreement, the 2022 contract has helped the union gain a foothold in the streaming sector and ensured members fair compensation for their work on the platform’s original programming, including English- and Spanish-language dubbing for its live-action programming. The deal has proven vital for members during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as subscriptions to major streaming platforms increased by 50% in 2020. 

Union members, staff and guests also took a tour of the CES Exhibition Hall. Whitehair, Crabtree-Ireland and others also attended the CES 2023 Leaders in Technology dinner, an invitation-only ceremony with policymakers, technologists, media leaders and entrepreneurs. 

The fourth Labor Innovation & Technology Summit was held on Jan. 6. The summit brings together leaders from across the labor movement, entertainment sector and technology space to discuss what innovation means for the future of workers.

CES is owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association. Considered the world’s most influential tech event, its exhibition hall spotlights leading manufacturers, developers and suppliers producing innovative consumer technology hardware, content, technology delivery systems and more. It also includes a conference program, C Space Studios, where global business leaders and pioneering thinkers address the tech industry’s most relevant issues.

To view AI Goes to Hollywood, Ad-ventures in Advertainment and Influencers and Actors in the Metaverse, visit sagaftra.org/videos.

All photos by Shane O’Neal.