Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Would you buy a car from an AI chatbot? What if it looked and talked like Tom Hanks? These are the sorts of questions kicking around Sacramento, where lawmakers are considering a slew of proposals to regulate artificial intelligence.
SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors, is pushing for legislation that would require detailed consent for the use of “digital replicas.” In a separate bill, the union also wants to prevent studios from putting dead performers in movies without the consent of their heirs.
Underscoring the contentiousness around AI, the Motion Picture Association has come out against the digital replicas bill. If passed, the California measures would expand significantly on AI provisions won during last year’s 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike, which limit what studios can do in movies and scripted TV shows.
The bill requiring consent for digital replicas, AB 2602, would apply more broadly to all sorts of performance contracts, including audiobooks, videogames, product endorsements and musical performances.
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