Hundreds of actors and Hollywood insiders sign open letter urging government not to loosen copyright laws for AI

Hollywood actors, directors and other creatives are pushing back on the loosening of AI regulations, with more than 420 entertainment industry insiders signing an open letter urging the government to uphold copyright laws that apply to artificial intelligence. 

The group, led by actress Natasha Lyonne, also includes Bette Midler, Aubrey Plaza, Ava DuVernay, Paul Simon, Mark Ruffalo and hundreds of others.

The letter states that OpenAI and Google have recently recommended the government remove “all legal protections and existing guardrails surrounding copyright law protections for the training of Artificial Intelligence.” The group believes loosening copyright laws to help AI learn would come at the expense of creative industries.

OpenAI, a major U.S. artificial intelligence company, and Google both wrote to the Office of Science and Technology Policy about an AI action plan this month, making the case that it would be beneficial for AI developers to be able to use copyrighted materials to train AI.

Google argued that exceptions to copyright laws would allow the use of “copyrighted, publicly available material for AI training without significantly impacting rights holders,” and that fair use and text-and-data mining exceptions would balance existing copyright rules. 

Actors have long fought against the expansion of AI, with fears that it would undermine their creative work. One of the major setbacks during the 2024 SAG-AFTRA union negotiations with major production companies was that the parties could not agree on AI regulations in the film industry.

SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents about 160,000 performers, wanted film and TV producers to obtain consent from actors to create and use their digital replicas. They also fought for actors to be compensated at their usual rate – even if the role is performed by a digital replica of them. 

After a 118-day strike during the contract negotiations, SAG-AFTRA and the actors it represents won, and the deal included rules about consent and compensation when AI is used in film and TV shows. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills into law last year that protect actors from artificial intelligence replicas. One requires labor contracts to specify if there will be AI-generated replicas of an actor, while the other bans the commercial use of digital replicas of performers who are deceased in any media — including TV shows, films and video games — without getting consent from their estates.

The number of artists who signed the open letter is growing, and also includes Ben Stiller, Ayo Edebiri, model and actress Cara Delevingne, directors Guillermo del Toro and Taika Waititi, “SNL” actress Chloe Fineman and Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett. The group initially asked the government for a response by Saturday at 11:59 p.m. but has continued to collect signatures on the letter as that deadline has elapsed. 

The letter states that the entertainment industry supports more than 2.3 million jobs in the U.S. and pays more than $229 billion in wages annually and argues that “AI companies are asking to undermine this economic and cultural strength by weakening copyright protections for the films, television series, artworks, writing, music, and voices used to train AI models at the core of multi-billion dollar corporate valuations.”

Last month, Vice President JD Vance warned European Union countries against overregulation of AI during the Artificial Intelligence Action summit in Paris, France. While speaking to tech executives and world leaders, Vance said the excessive regulation of the AI sector could “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off.”

In January, President Trump said that the U.S. would invest up to $500 billion in private sector investment to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the country as a way to keep up with competitors in China. 

Upon taking office in January, Mr. Trump repealed former President Joe Biden’s executive order to keep the development of AI safe, secure and trustworthy and also put out a National Security Memo that outlined the framework to develop AI in government and national security, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU, which works to protect people’s rights in the U.S., called Mr. Trump’s rollback of AI guidelines a “grave mistake,” saying the guardrails put in place by the Biden administration were “common sense steps,” including transparency and regular testing “to ensure that AI tools follow existing laws protecting civil rights and civil liberties, accurately perform the tasks they’re given, and don’t waste agency resources.”