Posts tagged AI
Could AI be used to replace striking workers?
November 19, 2024 // Some of the striking workers handle software and data analysis. It wasn’t clear if, without them, the paper’s website would be able to handle what was an expected influx of election-related traffic. Aravind Srinivas, CEO of AI company Perplexity, responded on X to Sulzberger’s statements, saying that his company was “on standby to help ensure your essential coverage is available to all through the election.” The tech workers’ strike ended after a week (though without a contract resolution), and there were no reported website outages. But the offer from Srinivas struck many as a way to undercut the union’s power and compromise workers’ ability to fight for better labor conditions. Replies to his comment called him a “scab” (a term for someone who crosses a picket line and replaces striking workers).
Labor Department Publishes AI Best Practices
October 18, 2024 // “These Best Practices provide a roadmap for responsible AI in the workplace, helping businesses harness these technologies while proactively supporting and valuing their workers,” commented Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. “As we embrace the opportunities that AI can offer, we must ensure workers are lifted up, not left behind.” The document follows the AI and Inclusive Hiring Framework developed by the Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology to prevent employment discrimination in the hiring process.
1 big thing: The big labor fight over automation is here
October 9, 2024 // Between the lines: The union also made sure that as the job of a dockworker changed, it was still a union job. That's an issue that striking autoworkers handled last year: Their tentative agreement included a provision that would ensure that workers who make electric vehicles see the same union protections as those making cars powered by combustion engines. Reality check: Not all unions are bargaining this hard. The deal struck by UPS and its workers last year didn't "adequately address automation,"
A+E Factual Studios staff is the latest to unionize
September 25, 2024 // The WGA says the A+E drive is their most significant to date in unscripted television. (Frankel’s union is seeking representation under SAG-AFTRA, the actors guild.) The workers are currently seeking to secure improvements to salary, healthcare, paid time off, and minimum time to rest in between shifts.
Hollywood union strikes deal for advertisers to replicate actors’ voices with AI
August 19, 2024 // Video game voice actors and motion-capture performers called a strike last month over failed labor contract negotiations focused on AI-related protections for workers. Legislation called the NO FAKES Act has been introduced in Congress and would give every person a right to their own voice and likeness, making AI copying without permission illegal. SAG-AFTRA, the Motion Picture Association, The Recording Academy and Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab support the bill. Proliferation of so-called deepfakes, which are highly realistic videos generated by AI trained on actual voices and images, and their role in manipulating public opinion have also raised alarm worldwide.
Writer Earnings Fell $600 Million Due to Strike and Industry Contraction, WGA Says
July 30, 2024 // TV and film writer earnings fell $603 million last year, or about 32%, as the end of “Peak TV” coincided with a 148-day strike by the Writers of Guild of America. Writer earnings, reported for dues purposes, dropped to $1.29 billion in 2023. Adjusted for inflation, that is the lowest level since the writers strike in 2007-08.
IATSE, AMPTP Reach Tentative Agreement on New Contract
June 26, 2024 // According to a memo emailed to IATSE members, the tentative deal includes “new protections around artificial intelligence, including language that ensures no employee is required to provide AI prompts in any manner that would result in the displacement of any covered employee. These changes in the Basic Agreement are in addition to the tentative agreements reached in the Local Agreement negotiations.”
Sesame Workshop Writers Authorize Potential Strike
April 18, 2024 // In the negotiations for a new contract, which began on Feb. 13, the union is seeking to institute “industry standard” annual raises and fixed residuals for re-use on streaming platforms, as well as a performance-based bonus when their work does well on streaming platforms. They are also looking to expand their contract to cover writing for animation and social media work, which would add members to the existing bargaining unit. They are further working on regulating the use of AI within the contract and establishing a paid parental leave fund. “No one wants to see a picket line on Sesame Street,” WGA East president Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. “Millions of parents and families around the world are going to have a lot of questions. They might ask why the bosses at Sesame Workshop are ignoring their company’s own messages of kindness and fairness.”
Gannett journalists in the solar eclipse’s path go on strike
April 9, 2024 // Both Austin and Rochester are in the path of totality, and journalists at the two newsrooms say their outlets have devoted considerable resources to covering the eclipse. Democrat and Chronicle education reporter Justin Murphy said his newsroom has already published dozens of stories about the eclipse and has a “major” print issue planned for the event. “We see the eclipse as the exact sort of news event that demands experienced local reporters who know where to be, who know who to speak with, who know what to ask,” Murphy said. “We’ve put a huge amount of thought into where … all the different reporters are going to be set up to capture not only the eclipse itself, but all the different geographies and demographics of our community — the different experiences that people are going to be having.” But after the Newspaper Guild of Rochester failed to reach an agreement on a contract with Gannett Friday night, workers decided to launch an open-ended strike.
Boston University Denies It Would Use AI to Replace Striking Teaching Assistants
April 2, 2024 // The university’s response comes after an email to faculty from Stan Sclaroff, dean of arts and sciences. Last week, two days after thousands of BU graduate student workers began a strike, the email made recommendations including using artificial intelligence to better manage course discussions, labs and student feedback. “Neither Dean Sclaroff nor Boston University believe that AI can replace its graduate student teaching assistants, and the assertion that we plan to do so is patently false,” Boston University said in a statement on Friday.