AI and Protecting Human Art

The Writer's Strike is the first step

To: [WGA Members]:

I have been reading and thinking a lot about AI and its role in the creative community's future. Turns out we got to the "Protect Human Art" phase much quicker than expected!

This article from Peter Csathy really sums up the present moment as best I can imagine. From the essentially non-AI underpinnings of creativity ("To err is human..."), to the US Copyright Office's formal position on the refusal of copyright protection to non-human authorship, we have come to the point where we all need to collectively make a decision about protecting human-generated creative works, and take action to do so.

The union members of the Writers Guild of America West and Writers Guild of America East - WGAE are taking a critical first step. The time is now to affirm and protect our shared interest in encouraging and protecting art, and I fully support the writers in their strike -- both in their efforts to secure a fair wage, and in their demand that the studios (and principally Amazon, Apple and Netflix) make a decision now on the existential question of artificial intelligence in art.

If the entities that employ writers, directors and producers, and control their means of production and distribution, commit to supporting those artists right now, we can move forward with a paradigm where AI-generated content exists parallel to human-generated works. This would allow for the inevitable evolution of AI as it becomes more prevalent and more useful, including as a means of producing instant, customized art (which could be rad!), separate and apart from the "entertainment industry" -- a pejorative that stands for an economy of human-generated content that has been in existence since the literal dawn of man.

The alternative is a muddled and mixed landscape where nobody knows what is real or fake, and humans are progressively seen as little more than an expensive additive. Some shows are written by AI, some movies directed by humans, all are made and distributed by the same companies, with no distinguishing elements. To the contrary, AI- and human-generated content will be served in whatever way keeps your attention -- tricks you, fools you, gameifies you. Audience attention will be (already is?) the primary purpose of art, and eventually the lowest cost alternative will render human contribution obsolete.

You have a great idea for a story, film, graphic novel, series, or cinematic universe? Have fun self-publishing!

So I'm with the writers. It's time to decide to protect human art.