Kalakshar US

On Thursday, leaders at the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced that the group was going on strike after negotiations with Hollywood studios fell apart. According to the Alliance of Motion Picture of Television Producers, the rejected deal included a “groundbreaking AI proposal” that would “protect performers’ digital likenesses.” The AMPTP said the AI deal would require a performers consent for the “creation and use of digital replicas or for digital alterations of a performance.” SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland suggested during a press conference that the proposal was just the opposite.

Crabtree-Ireland described the would-be AI proposal as a backdoor means for studios to gain perpetual rights to an actor’s likeness. “In that ‘groundbreaking AI proposal,’ they propose that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day’s pay, and the company should own that scan, their image, their likeness, and be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want with no consent and no compensation,” the National Executive Director claimed in response to a question about the negotiations. “So, if you think that’s a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again.”

Although the studios AI proposal isn’t the sole reason that the union voted to strike, its a good example of the kind of industry changes SAG-AFTRA hope to address with the strike. In recent years, studios have used technology to de-age, resurrect and at times fully replace actors. How the industry handles the rights to a performer’s likeness could very well develop into a key issue in the near future.

“Actors deserve a contract that reflects the changes that have taken place in the industry,” Crabtree-Ireland said at the press conference announcing the strike. “The current model devalues our members and affects their ability to make ends meet.”

Either way, the strike itself is making history. SAG-AFTRA members will be joining the Writers Guild of America in striking. The two groups have not held a strike at the same time since the 1960s.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/striking-actors-say-rejected-ai-proposal-would-let-studios-use-their-likeness-without-fair-pay-000025878.html?src=rss 

Twitter’s ad-revenue sharing program for creators has officially launched — and it’s reportedly already begun paying eligible Blue subscribers. Elon Musk announced the initiative in February, but with scant details about how it would work, nobody knew quite what to expect. However, some high-profile users report today they’ve received notifications about incoming deposits — including one user claiming he’s set to receive over $24,000. The rewards are based on ads in replies to eligible users’ content.

The program incentivizes creators who contribute popular content that drives ads — rewarding accounts that help Twitter make money (while driving new Blue subscriptions). “This means that creators can get a share in ad revenue starting in the replies to their posts,” a Twitter help article published today reads. “This is part of our effort to help people earn a living directly on Twitter.” Musk tweeted today that payouts “will be cumulative from when I first promised to do so in February.”

However, the bar is high to receive a transfer from the Musk-owned social media company. The support post says the revenue-sharing system applies to Twitter Blue or Verified Organizations subscribers with at least five million post impressions in each of the past three months. They’ll also need to pass a human review and adhere to the company’s Creator Subscriptions policies; Twitter will then pay eligible users using a Stripe account. The company says it will soon launch an application process, found under Monetization in account settings.

The move aims to make Twitter a more attractive platform for content creators. It may not be a coincidence that the program arrived about a week after Meta launched its Twitter rival Threads, which didn’t take long to gain traction — gaining over 100 million users in its first five days. That’s higher than previous record-holders ChatGPT and TikTok.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitter-finally-begins-paying-some-of-its-creators-204830947.html?src=rss