Will there be films written by ChatGPT soon?

One demand from the screenwriters who have been on strike in Hollywood for four months is that it not be replaced by artificial intelligence. It is now slowly becoming clear how the major film studios want to integrate AI into script creation.

In mid-August, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios and streaming providers, explained how they plan to use AI tools like ChatGPT in creative processes. AMPTP emphasized that use of the tools will not lead to the undermining of authors. In other words, they want to use the technology and have no plans to ban it completely.

This statement describes AMPTP as a response to the Authors Guild’s concerns. What remains unanswered, however, is how much the studios will depend on authors in the future. It is not legal for ChatGPT to write full scripts.

As recently as March, the US Copyright Office confirmed that most works created by artificial intelligence are not protected by copyright. The statement states that copyrights can only be granted for works that are the “product of human creativity.” AI are not authors. Nevertheless, a work containing AI-generated material can claim copyright if a human “has selected or arranged it in a sufficiently creative manner so that the resulting work constitutes an original work of authorship.”

What would the payment look like? AMPTP’s proposal states that, for example, if writers receive and revise a script created by AI, they “will receive compensation for a script with no assigned material and not for a rewrite.” The studios want to pay authors as if they were writing original works, even if they were “just” revising an AI script.

ChatGPT will not replace authors in the near future – at least not completely. It seems unlikely that the film studios and the writers’ union will reach an agreement anytime soon. AMPTP has not yet responded to another demand: authors are also demanding that their work not be used to train AI programs.

The fact that no deal has yet been concluded does not bode well for the winter season. Because if nothing happens in the coming weeks, it will have a devastating impact on the winter season, writes CNN. The possibilities for new films and series in the winter simply disappeared. And if there is no winter season, there will be little work on television productions until the new year, with or without a deal.

(cmu)