Hollywood writers demanding studios regulate AI so it doesn’t steal their jobs

 Hollywood’s writers are demanding to write their own happy endings — rather than Artificial Intelligence doing it for them.

Creeped out by advances in scarily realistic computing technology which allows programs to create text very similar to how a human would, script writers are seeking protection from being replaced by machines.

As part of current negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and the major TV and film studios they are demanding better pay and regulation on how AI is used so tech like ChatGPT, Bing and Bard doesn’t eventually take over.

“We just don’t know what the technology will be like months or years from now,” said Michael Weiss, who wrote the 2008 sci-fi thriller “Journey to the Center of the Earth” and other films.

“Do not underestimate the computer’s ability to generate material and take over human capabilities and don’t underestimate any corporation’s desire to save money. 

“With both of these things, you’re going to see an inflection point. How much can we rely on AI to create and who are we going to pay to do it? Those are the big questions.”

AI models take huge amounts of text and data from all over the web to create images, videos or text based on the instructions it is given.

Songs generated by ChatGPT imitating best-selling artists like Drake and The Weeknd have gone viral, while fake pictures of Pope Francis and Donald Trump have fooled users into thinking they were the real thing.

The Writers Guild of America is asking TV and film studios to regulate the US of artificial intelligence.

REUTERS/Mike Blake

The WGA has said it supports using AI as a tool to assist in rewriting scripts, but members want to make sure writers would still get full credit, even when asked to rewrite content generated by AI.

To help control AI’s influence over scripted work, the WGA demanded that AI-generated material should not be considered “source material,” such as novels, plays and magazine articles which a screenplay can be based on.

The guild is also pushing for AI-content not to be labeled as “literary material,” which includes original screenplays, stories and dialogue.

The WGA has said it supports the use of AI when revising scripts.

REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

In a Tweet posted on March 22, the Writers Guild of America West noted that AI software “does not create anything” but merely “generates a regurgitation of what it’s fed.”

“In the same way a studio may point to a Wikipedia article, or other research material, and ask the writer to refer to it, they can make the writer aware of the AI-generated content,” officials said. “But, like all research material, it has no role in guild-covered work, not in the chain of title in the intellectual property.”

The Post’s request for comment from the Writers Guild of America was not answered Monday.

Screenwriter Michael Weiss warned that we shouldn’t “underestimate the computer’s ability to generate material and take over human capabilities.”

Dreams Quest Official/YouTube

Weiss said while the WGA’s decision to include the AI component is “very forward thinking,” negotiations between writers and the major studios might not even keep up with the speed of how AI technology is already changing Hollywood. 

“Ten years ago, people thought the movie ‘HER’ was weird because a guy falls in love  with an operating system,” Weiss said, referring to the 2013 Spike Jonez movie starring Joaquin Phoenix. “And now, it doesn’t seem strange at all.

“Obviously, there is a financial component to this, which is if an AI can rewrite your script faster by feeding it into an algorithm and it does the rewrite … that seems like a possibility one day and it could get very messy.

“But the guild is still interested in protecting its human membership first, and not robots. What I’m happy about is that this is being talked about now because we can’t even predict what will happen with AI three years from now.”

https://nypost.com/2023/05/01/hollywood-writers-demanding-studios-regulate-ai/

Fort Worth man living in fear after FBI wrongly put his photo online in hunt for Tex. shooting suspect

A Fort Worth man and his family are living in fear and have received death threats since the FBI wrongly plastered his photo online as the violent suspect authorities are seeking in the fatal shooting of five people.

The feds quickly corrected their shocking error Sunday, but the man’s sister-in-law said the damage is done and Francisco Oropeza is afraid to leave his home.

The 38-year-old Texas fugitive authorities are hunting for is Francisco Oropesa with an “s” while the married father of four who was mistakenly identified has a “z” for Oropeza.  

“What if somebody sees a tweet and sees a Facebook share and they see the picture, and then they see him. You know?” his sister-in-law told Fox 4, adding the family has received death threats.

“They haven’t gone outside or anything,” she added about the family. “He’s a truck driver so he drives all the US. Somebody could see him somewhere.”

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Francisco Oropesa, 38, allegedly shot dead five neighbors, including an 8-year-old boy, after they had asked him to stop shooting a semiautomatic rifle in his yard.

ZUMAPRESS.com

She said her relative called the FBI in a panic Sunday when he saw his image carelessly tossed out by the feds.

He told them the picture they used was of a newly taken commercial driver’s license photo, Fox 4 reported.

The sister-in-law was not named for her safety.

Oropesa, the accused gunman, has been on the run since Friday’s mass shooting that killed five, including a young boy in Cleveland, Texas.

He allegedly opened fire on his neighbors after he was asked to stop shooting rounds in his yard, authorities said.

In a tweet Sunday, the FBI Houston field office put out photos of the suspect and stressed the agency was going to refer to the alleged killer as “Oropesa” to better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems.

In a previous tweet Sunday, the FBI admitted it blasted out an image of the wrong person on its social media channels Sunday.

Francisco Oropesa, wrongfully posted, is afraid to leave his home.

FBI Houston

The FBI responded to posting incorrect information about the suspect.

FBI Houston

“An incorrect image of Francisco Oropeza with a blue backdrop was mistakenly disseminated earlier today. That image has since been removed from FBI social media accounts,” the FBI wrote. “Please do not use that photo.”

FBI special agent in charge Jack Smith also addressed the flub during a Sunday press conference where officials offered an $80,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Oropesa.

“As you can see, an investigation like this, we’re receiving information from a whole slew of agencies and the citizens,” Smith said. “And it was a mistake on our side of it. We acted quickly to remove that photo.”\

He said the FBI is now 100% confident the correct photos are being used.

Oropeza’s sister-in-law said the screw-up should have never happened.

“It’s very horrible mistake. I just wish that they would do better journaling, making sure that before they post with such a huge deal they would do some research as to who the person is,” she told Fox 4. 

https://nypost.com/2023/05/01/man-living-in-fear-after-fbi-wrongly-put-his-photo-online-in-hunt-for-texas-shooting-suspect/

This year’s 3 bank failures held $532B in assets — more than all lenders that collapsed in 2008

 The three US banks that collapsed this year — First Republic, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York — had more combined assets under management than all 25 federally insured lenders that failed in 2008 at the onset of the Great Recession.

The US banking sector was dealt another blow when the FDIC stepped in to seize control of First Republic — marking the second-largest bank failure in US history by assets — and to sell it to JPMorgan Chase.

As of the end of last year, First Republic had approximately $213 billion in assets under management. SVB had $209 billion in assets under management as of last Dec. 31, while Signature Bank had roughly $110 billion under its control.

When combined, the three failed banks held a whopping $532 billion in total assets.

Meanwhile, the 25 banks with FDIC insurance that failed in 2008, including one-time industry giant Washington Mutual, had $526 billion in combined assets at their points of collapse when adjusted for inflation, according to the New York Times.

The sum does not include failed investment banks, such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. Still, it provides an indication of the brutal hit to the US banking sector this year as large regional lenders face pressure from a rapid uptick in interest rates.

This year’s bank failures outpaced all lenders’ failures in 2008 in terms of total assets.

First Republic is the second-largest bank failure in US history by assets.

Matthew McDermott

First Republic came under immense pressure this year following the earlier collapses of SVB and Signature Bank — which prompted a flurry of deposit outflows as worried customers pulled their money out of regional banks.

JPMorgan Chase acquired First Republic overnight in a government-led deal, following weeks of speculation about whether the troubled lender would be able to survive the turmoil.

As part of the deal, JPMorgan Chase assumed control of approximately $173 billion of loans and approximately $30 billion of securities held by First Republic.

Signature Bank of New York catered to the crypto industry.

REUTERS

The FDIC said its seizure of First Republic prior to the sale would result in a roughly $13 billion hit to its Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), which backstops deposits at insured banks across the country.

“Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did,” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. “Our financial strength, capabilities and business model allowed us to develop a bid to execute the transaction in a way to minimize costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund.”

Silicon Valley Bank fell into federal receivership in March.

AP

First Republic failed despite an earlier rescue effort that saw the nation’s largest banks, including JPMorgan Chase, pour in $30 billion in a bid to stabilize the lender.

First Republic, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank of New York currently rank as the second-, third- and fourth-largest bank failures in US history. Washington Mutual still ranks first, with $307 billion in assets under management when it failed in 2008.

President Biden addressed the sale of First Republic during a White House event on Monday — and called for stricter supervision of the banking sector.

“I’m pleased to say that regulators have taken action to facilitate the sale of First Republic Bank to ensure that all depositors are protected and taxpayers are not on the hook,” Biden said.

https://nypost.com/2023/05/01/this-years-3-bank-failures-held-532b-in-assets-more-than-all-lenders-that-collapsed-in-2008-crisis/