Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed into law two bills that will give actors more protections over their digital likenesses, addressing concerns brought up during last year's Hollywood strike led by performers guild SAG-AFTRA. One of the bills, AB1836, prohibits and penalizes the making and distribution of a deceased person's digital replica without permission from their estate. The other legislation, AB2602, makes a contract entered after Jan. 1, 2025, unenforceable if a digital replica of an actor was used when the individual could have performed the work in person, if the contract did not include a reasonably specific description of how the digital replica would be used and if the actor was not represented by their lawyer or labor union when the deal was signed. "No one should live in fear of becoming someone else's unpaid digital puppet," said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's national executive director and chief negotiator in a statement. Newsom has led the way in protecting people -- and families -- from A.I. replication without real consent."

California has given the go-ahead to a landmark AI bill to protect performers' digital likenesses. On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2602, which will go into effect on January 1, 2025. The bill requires studios and other employers to get consent before using "digital replicas" of performers. Newsom also signed AB 1836, which grants similar rights to deceased performers, requiring their estate's permission before using their AI likenesses. AB 2602, introduced in April, covers film, TV, video games, commercials, audiobooks and non-union performing jobs.

Hollywood's video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage after talks for a new contract with major game studios broke down over artificial intelligence protections. The strike – the second for video game voice actors and motion capture performers under the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag-Aftra) – will begin at 12.01am Friday. The move comes after nearly two years of negotiations with gaming giants, including divisions of Activision, Warner Bros and Walt Disney Co, over a new interactive media agreement. Sag-Aftra negotiators say gains have been made over wages and job safety in the video game contract, but that the studios will not make a deal over the regulation of generative AI. Without guardrails, game companies could train AI to replicate an actor's voice, or create a digital replica of their likeness without consent or fair compensation, the union said.

On Wednesday night, the actor Jeremy Allen White, of "The Bear," was working his way down a red carpet in Dallas. It was the première of "The White Claw," an A24 movie about the Von Erich clan of professional wrestlers. On the carpet, an "Entertainment Tonight" reporter informed White, "We just heard moments ago--the strike is over!" and stuck the mike in his face. "That's amazing," White said, seeming taken aback. Asked how he felt, he added, "I don't know the details of the deal, but I'm sure that SAG got what we wanted."

The major labor union representing performers and broadcasters may branch out its historic strike for better working conditions to include the performers who bring video games to life. On Friday, more than a month after its current strike began, the SAG-AFTRA union's national board announced that it was seeking a strike vote against major video game companies like Activision and Disney Character Voices International. After more than a year, according to the union, its negotiations for better pay and protections against artificial intelligence in gaming have reached an impasse. While video game performers are part of SAG-AFTRA, their contracts are separate from the theatrical, TV, and streaming contracts that other members are currently striking over. "Once again we are facing employer greed and disrespect," wrote SAG-AFTRA's president, Fran Drescher.

"Jump the fuck up!" Tom Morello, the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, instructed the crowd outside the gates of Paramount. Morello, who wore his signature red bandana around his neck, was strumming "This Land Is Your Land," to rev up the morning's picketers. Everyone raised a fist and jumped the fuck up, singing, "This land was made for you and me!" The Writers Guild of America was on day one hundred and three of its strike against the Hollywood studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (A.M.P.T.P.); the actors of SAG-AFTRA were on day thirty. The August sun was blazing, and the experienced strikers wore hats; others found shade under signs that read "ON STRIKE!" or "CUT OUT THE CRAP AMPTP!" It was "Bruce Springsteen Day" on the Paramount line, and several people had come in "Born in the U.S.A." garb. A guy in a headband and tight jeans marched along Melrose Avenue. "I'm here so often I plan my outfits," he said to a companion.

Actress Sandra Miska, a member of SAG-AFTRA, explains what it was like having her likeness scanned for AI and if she would agree to it again. The Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike for over three months, is meeting with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on Friday to potentially discuss next steps. Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA, the actors' union that joined the WGA on strike last month, still hasn't seen any movement towards resuming talks with the AMPTP. One of the major sticking points: the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) to replace background actors with digital copies. Some background actors have already been scanned by productions but remain unaware if or how their likeness is being used, causing concern about their future career prospects.

In The Matrix, Neo (Keanu Reeves) wanders through crowded city streets, bumping past sailors and women in red dresses, before learning that they aren't real people, but instead simulations. In future Keanu Reeves movies, it's possible that everyone around him might be simulated, too. On July 13, Hollywood producers advertised a "groundbreaking AI proposal" involving the "use of digital replicas or…digital alterations of a performance." The SAG-AFTRA union lambasted the proposal, accusing the studios of simply trying to replace background actors with AI. Studios could scan an actor, pay them for a day, and then simply use AI to insert them into the rest of the film, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator, said in a press conference. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers responded that this characterization was inaccurate and that they would "establish a comprehensive set of provisions that require informed consent and fair compensation when a'digital replica'" or similar AI technology is used.

The idea that studios want actors to relinquish their digital doubles forever in exchange for a few tanks of gas (and that's before taxes!) was just too deliciously infuriating not to retweet or Thread. The scenario transformed the studios into creative labor–devouring supervillains. Even if you hadn't previously cared much about the looming strike, suddenly you were angry--the studios wanted to get away with replacing human actors for free. And who knew how they'd use those digital doubles! If you've watched the recent episode of Black Mirror in which a streaming site rationalizes all kinds of twisted uses of Salma Hayek's digital double based on a legal agreement, it's not hard to imagine the whole thing truly going off the rails.

Hollywood's actors and writers will join forces on the picket line from Friday, after studios failed to reach a deal this week with the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). It is the first time the two unions have been on strike simultaneously since 1960, when actor – and future US president – Ronald Reagan led the protests. Among SAG-AFTRA's 160,000-strong ranks are many of the world's biggest stars. Hollywood's A-listers, from Tom Cruise to Angelina Jolie to Johnny Depp, are card-carrying union members. Stars including Meryl Streep, Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell have come out publicly in favour of the strike.