Want agency in the AI age? Get ready to fight

Writers are protesting against studios' use of AI language models to write scripts. Actors are on strike after rejecting a proposal from companies seeking to use AI technology to scan people's faces and bodies, and own the right to use these deepfake-style digital copies without consent or compensation in perpetuity. What connects these cases is a fear that humans will be replaced by computer programs, and a feeling that there's very little we can do about it. Our lax approach to regulating the excesses of the previous tech boom means AI companies have felt safe building and launching products that are exploitative and harmful. But that is about to change.