Hollywood creatives warn White House that AI threatens $229 billion arts industry

Hollywood’s creative community is mobilizing against AI’s potential threat to copyright protections, with over 400 industry professionals warning the White House that America’s AI leadership shouldn’t undermine the arts. This confrontation highlights the growing tension between Silicon Valley tech giants and entertainment creatives over how AI systems should be permitted to use copyrighted works, a battle with significant economic and cultural implications for the $229 billion U.S. arts industry.

The big picture: More than 400 Hollywood creatives including Guillermo del Toro, Cynthia Erivo and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are urging the federal government to maintain copyright protections against artificial intelligence in response to the White House’s AI Action Plan.

• The letter argues that America’s AI leadership “must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries,” emphasizing that AI companies should negotiate appropriate licenses with copyright holders.
• Other high-profile signatories include Marisa Tomei, Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Ava DuVernay, and Ron Howard, representing writers, actors, musicians, and other entertainment professionals.

Industry tensions: AI companies and creative professionals are at odds over whether AI models can be trained on copyrighted content without permission or payment.

• Tech executives argue they should be able to train AI models with online content under the “fair use” doctrine, which allows limited reproduction of material without permission.
• OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane framed the issue as critical to national security, stating that “applying the fair use doctrine to AI is not only a matter of American competitiveness—it’s a matter of national security.”

Economic stakes: The U.S. arts and entertainment industry represents a significant economic force that could be undermined by weakened copyright protections.

• The sector supports more than 2.3 million American jobs and generates over $229 billion in wages annually, according to the letter.
• Organizations including the New York Times have already sued OpenAI for copyright infringement, while the Writers Guild of America has pushed studios to take legal action against AI companies.

Recent progress: Hollywood creatives have already made inroads on AI regulation at the state level.

• Creative guilds advocated for AI protections during the historic 2023 writers and actors strikes.
• In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed bills providing more protection for digital likenesses, reflecting growing governmental response to AI concerns.