The union is accusing tech companies of training AI on subtitle files pulled from thousands of TV shows and films.
The Writers Guild is now demanding studios take legal action against tech companies found to have been training their artificial intelligences on copyrighted works—including on open-source subtitles for TV shows and films, which AI researchers have reportedly been using to import huge reams of Guild-written dialogue into their large language models without paying anybody a dime.
The studios, as copyright holders of works written by WGA members, have done nothing to stop this theft. They have allowed tech companies to plunder entire libraries without permission or compensation. The studios’ inaction has harmed WGA members. The Guild’s collective bargaining agreement—the MBA—expressly requires the studios to defend their copyrights on behalf of writers. MBA Article 50 provides that the studios hold “in trust” rights reserved to certain writers of original works. Writers who have separated rights in those works under Article 16.B retain all other rights in the material, including the right to use the works to train AI systems.
It’s time for the studios to come off the sidelines. After this industry has spent decades fighting piracy, it cannot stand idly by while tech companies steal full libraries of content for their own financial gain. The studios should take immediate legal action against any company that has used our members’ works to train AI systems.
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