WGA East Expands Its Fight Against AI To Journalists In Pitch For Protection To Employers
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Although the Writers Guild of America closed a deal with the AMPTP, the east branch of the WGA has identified another vulnerable group, journalists. To prevent abuse of AI technology, the WGA-East circulated a petition calling on employers to ensure that journalists receive protection from the technology. The petition reads in part, “We, the workers who create the stories, art, videos, and podcasts our audiences love, are uniquely positioned to help identify beneficial uses of generative AI in our industry and flag potential problems.”
The petition outlines three objectives for employers to follow. The first objective asks employers to “work collaboratively with us, the workers, before implementing AI tools in our workplaces. Commit to discussing new and emerging technologies with workers to ensure they're applied in ethical and equitable ways.” The second objective asks the employers to publicly commit to not replacing workers with AI while the third asks for immediate good-faith negotiating and a guarantee that AI protections will be on the table when future negotiations start.
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The guild is calling for good faith negotiations and for employers to speak with their journalists about where AI can be used and where its use would mean the loss of jobs. The guild members were also concerned about the problems within AI technology, including its potential biases. The guild wrote, “We recognize there are ways AI can support our work — but we also know that this technology can introduce factual errors, perpetuate racist biases, compromise data privacy, and diminish our readers’ trust. We’ve already seen publications make embarrassing fumbles by rushing out AI-generated content, resulting in widespread reputational harm and reader mistrust.”
The petition was signed by union members who work at CBS News, HuffPost, The Intercept, Vox Media, Slate, iHeartMedia Podcasts, and MSNBC. Several TV and film writers included their names on the petition as well. The sheer amount of signatures turned the one-page petition into a 33-page document. From the petition, it’s clear that journalists have found their first ally in the coming fight against AI.
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