The Animation Guild’s parent organization, the IATSE (International Alliance of Stage Employees, Film Technicians, Artists, and Related Artifacts), has established 10 Fundamental Principles for the Application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Technologies in Entertainment. announced. industry.
The union said the list was created in response to technology that “fundamentally changes employers’ business models and disrupts the lives of IATSE members.” The IATSE had previously announced that the report was being prepared by the Trade Union Commission on Artificial Intelligence.
In an accompanying release, IATSE said its strategy on the rise of AI and ML “must be comprehensive, with a focus on research, collaboration, education, political and legislative advocacy, organizing and collective bargaining.” ing.
IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb said: [are] expensive. We have a lot of work to do, but I am happy to report that union efforts are already well underway. ”
The release of the Core Principles, which you can read in full here, came at an auspicious time. On July 3, the IATSE tweeted plans for a new LinkedIn Learning Path (a group of curated videos on social media platforms) titled “Artificial Intelligence 101.” The organization says it was developed to provide IATSE officials with resources to understand and use AI. technology.
The news traveled like a lead balloon to many members, including members of the Animation Guild. IATSE’s social media pages were inundated with complaints about the program, especially his choice to feature speakers who are deeply invested in AI technology.
as a member of @animation guild I think it’s terrible that our parent union is too pro-AI. The jobs of animation workers have already been taken over by AI. This is not a future issue. It’s affecting us now!If @IATSE If you don’t care about us, I’m going to vote out the current leader. https://t.co/5FRaDNQB7Q
— Joey Clift (@joeytainment) July 4, 2023
1/ I can make it clear to everyone how technology works, how it is fueled by creative labor theft, and how workers are affected by this. As such, we are committed to educating our members. However, out of 13 panels, he has only two panels with panelists who do not personally invest in AI companies.
— Carla Ortiz (@kortizart) July 4, 2023
Pinar Seyhan Demirdag, co-founder and AI director of Seyhan Lee, is among those in the program lineup. Xavier Amatriain, Vice President of Engineering at LinkedIn – Product AI Strategy. Denys Linkov, Machine Learning Lead for Voiceflow. Jonathan Fernandez, Data Scientist and Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence Consultant at AI company Cohere. And Ronnie Sher, Senior AI Engineer at Kubiya.ai.
Likewise, the subject of the lesson is unpopular with union members. Classes include lessons on generative AI programs, intellectual property law and how to use AI, and research and writing with AI. Some of the most famous AI and ML companies such as ChatGPT, Midjourney and Dall-E are on the list of his IATSE videos.
None of the videos were commissioned or produced by the organization, according to the IATSE Twitter account. Instead, the group has created a list of existing videos on his LinkedIn Learning, which union members can access for free. The group is working on developing its own original product, which will be available soon.
IATSE spent a good deal of its time Wednesday morning on damage control on social media to take a position on what it believed members were most concerned about.
After being labeled pro-AI by numerous members, including TAG members, IATSE Posted:
We are not AI advocates. We have a duty to educate our members about current artificial intelligence technologies so that we collectively have a deeper understanding of how these technologies can impact everyone in our industry. .
in response to accusation IATSE, Ignoring Artist Opposition answered:
Do we…listen to artist music? For example, not all so-called AI tools, such as denoising, upscaling, and speech separation tools, are generative.
We are clear in our documentation that we are against generative AI and its plagiarism
Cartoon Brew also contacted the Animation Guild to ask if their position was consistent with that of the IATSE. At the time of publication, we have not received a response from them, but have announced the following: statement This afternoon:
In May, the Animation Guild launched an AI Task Force separate from the IATSE AI Committee. We are committed to protecting and empowering the animation community from technologies that can negatively impact the way we work. We are committed to upholding the dignity of human artistry and labor in the animation industry. We encourage you to contact the Guild directly with any questions or concerns.
Cartoon Beer Views: A major problem with AI, especially generative AI, as it relates to the visual arts community, is that artists feel that they are being left behind in AI development. Technologists and business people have no idea how AI benefits visual artists, what useful applications there are for visual artists, and whether artists want to use AI. , there is a popular view that AI is pushing into the field of visual arts. Not surprisingly, so far the result of generative AI has been a deluge of soulless derivative visual content.
For the creative community and AI to thrive, artists need to become stakeholders in its development. John Lasseter probably had the greatest insight into the relationship between art and technology when he upheld Pixar’s creative credo. Theme technology and technology give inspiration art. ” So far, AI in the visual arts has not been challenging or exciting. As long as the tech and business worlds are stubbornly viewing AI as just a profit-making tool, technology is headed in the right direction. It is not.
