EXCLUSIVE: Equity and Pact are returning to the artificial intelligence negotiating table and we can tell you much more about what those negotiations will entail.
After a protracted standoff over the thorny issue of digital scanning, the actors’ union and the producers’ trade body will begin renegotiating in the coming weeks after Pact called an “enhanced offer,” which nevertheless could still lead to industrial action if the pair fail to strike a deal, Equity says.
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Rather than focusing on digital scanning, we understand that Equity’s main ask centers on a promise of financial compensation for actors whose likenesses are used to train AI models.
Sources tell us that Equity wants a payout for all actors whose likenesses are used in this way. If a production company sells its back catalog or future content to an AI training company for training large language models (LLMs), Equity wants all members who appear in these images to receive a payout. We understand that Equity is saying that these payments must be made retroactively.
While we don’t know the detail of what Pact has offered Equity in these negotiations, a Pact spokesperson told us that the body, which represents hundreds of UK manufacturing companies, has “offered AI terms to Equity members that are in line with those demonstrably working in other areas.” Pact negotiators emphasize that no manufacturing company engages in the behavior that Equity targets for compensation.
“Given the protections also available under UK data protection law, you could argue that UK actors would have greater control over their data and performance than their counterparts in other countries,” the spokesperson for Pact’s offering added.
The Pact spokesperson added that the terms include a panel established jointly with Equity to “regularly review manufacturing and market innovations,” which would address “fast-moving AI technology developments and future commercial opportunities.”
The offer has clearly not been enough to win over Equity and get the pair to sign on the dotted line, and Equity general secretary Paul Fleming said last week that industrial action “over upcoming productions” would remain possible if a deal is not struck.
Digital scanning of a smokescreen
Secretary General of Shares Paul W. Fleming
In any case, equity has returned to the table. For weeks, digital scanning of the ballot put negotiations on hold. Backed by the vast majority of members, including big names like Hugh Bonneville and Harriet Walter, the indicative vote that could have ultimately led to strike action asked: “Are you prepared to reject digital scanning on set to ensure adequate AI protection?”
But knowledgeable sources outside both organizations believe the digital scanning issue was a smokescreen, distracting from Equity’s real push for compensation.
In a note to members late last year seen by Deadline, Pact deputy CEO Max Rumney described the indicative voting question as “vague”, adding: “We have assured Equity that Pact members do not create LLMs, and that if anyone were to begin training LLMs in gigs to create new content or sell to third parties for such purposes, that we would work with Equity to agree commercial terms.”
“To be clear, this is not about outputs, such as changing an actor’s performance, nor about training LLMs for production use,” he added.
Pact and Equity have been negotiating the new set of contracts for almost two years, with AI being one of the five key demands, alongside pay, residuals and special provisions from the streamers. Equity listens to its American sister union SAG-AFTRA, which signed a deal with American studios at the end of 2023, symbolically endorsed by Equity, which also included AI guardrails.
An Equity spokeswoman said no part of the Pact agreement “will be confirmed until the agreement as a whole, in its entirety, is confirmed.”
“For Equity members, who determine the union’s priorities when entering into negotiations and are involved in the process itself, achieving AI protection is a matter of importance – especially at a time when technology and its use are rapidly evolving,” she added.
The next set of negotiations will take place in the coming weeks and it remains to be seen how willing one is to meet the other, or whether a middle ground can be found.
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