9 Comments
Aug 23, 2023·edited Aug 24, 2023

I am sure the other commenters have already pointed out the deficiencies in the deal. I am not a writer, so I won't comment on those.

But what I will say is that AMPTP continues to violate WGA's trust and releasing their deal points in public is just another way for them to tell the writers that they are bullies and not willing to negotiate in good faith. The studios are led by a group of people who are in a death cult where they don't care if the industry destroys itself as long as they can proudly say that they bullied the labour class into taking less. It's like that meme where two people are sitting at a campfire at the end of the world and one of them says "yeah, the planet is destroyed but we made a lot of profit".

1 step forward, 2 steps back from AMPTP.

EDIT 12 hrs after I posted this: Just found out that AMPTP might have violated NLRB rules by going public with their offer.

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So: written admission that companies intend to use AI to generate ideas, material and scripts: to replace writers. This fight is existential.

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If you’re a writer, letting AI write scripts is a sea change of the highest order. Saying “don’t worry, you’ll get paid the same” is not dealing with the huge existential threat writers feel to the very DNA of the process. What about notes? Rewrites? Does AI get a rewrite or 10 of the writer’s work? Who gets the created by credit? What if the executive likes the character the AI wrote more? What if the writer can’t capture “the voice” the AI? Can they be fired and replaced for that? I mean, c’mon, this counter doesn’t even scratch the surface.

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Much like span protection lead to mini-rooms, all these vague Band-aids seem like a recipe for endless unintended consequences. The spirit of these proposals are “there, now shut up” as opposed to genuine solutions to genuine problems.

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Yeah this ain't it.

Thank you to the AMPTP for helping stiffen our backs during the negotiation.

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Aug 23, 2023·edited Aug 23, 2023

The AMPTP’s stance feels a little smug, as if they’ve got this new digital tool they think will replace these pesky writers over time. Meanwhile, AI models are scanning, digesting and repurposing their content billions of times a day. Writers should be picketing outside Microsoft, Google, Meta, and OpenAI. That is the pile of money they need to be after.

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Total transparency on the numbers. Let them get AI’s foot in the door and you are done.

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Promises promises. If wishes were horses, all beggars would ride.

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"at least two" means there can be more, yes? The two shows I worked on - the second as showrunner - needed more than just three of we writers there to keep things on track.

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