SAMURAIQ DAILY: Hollywood Actor's Strike Ends with AI Deal // OpenAI Data Partnerships

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Today we are digging into two breaking stories - the new Hollywood AI Use Deal and OpenAI’s Data Partnerships!

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Hollywood Actors' Strike Resolved with Groundbreaking Deal Impacting AI and Streaming for Decades

Summary:

• The 118-day Hollywood actors' strike, the longest in history, concludes with a pivotal agreement between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

• The deal addresses contentious issues surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in actors' performances and demands for residual payments for streaming services.

• The strike, which impacted major studios like Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros., is set to end Thursday morning, pending approval from the union's national board on Friday.

• The negotiations, initially focused on fair wages, pivoted to the use of generative AI, with studios offering a proposal and SAG seeking protection against perpetual use without compensation.

• Recent adjustments to the AI language in the proposal seem to have played a crucial role in reaching the tentative deal.

In-Depth Exploration: After an unprecedented 118-day strike, Hollywood's Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has brokered a landmark deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, signaling a turning point for the $130 billion industry. The agreement, approved by a committee from SAG, brings an end to a deadlock marked by pickets outside major studio offices.

While the terms of the deal remain undisclosed, the prolonged strike centered on critical issues such as artificial intelligence's impact on actors' performances and the demand for fair compensation for shows and films streaming on digital platforms. The strike, which commenced in July and coincided with a separate strike by the Writers Guild of America, marked the industry's first dual work stoppage since 1960.

The negotiation's focal point shifted to generative AI, with studios proposing measures to safeguard actors' digital likenesses. However, SAG raised concerns about perpetual use without proper compensation for background performers, leading to a prolonged back-and-forth.

A recent development saw the studios agreeing to revise the AI language in their proposal, prompting optimism that actors secured essential protections. The tentative deal's specifics are yet to be fully disclosed, but it is a critical milestone for an industry that faced disruptions in both writing and acting sectors.

Notably, the strike's impact extended beyond Hollywood, elevating the conversation around artificial intelligence to an international level. US President Joe Biden's executive order aimed at regulating commercial AI, though not directly addressing Hollywood, resonated with SAG's advocacy for responsible AI development.

The overarching concern for both writers and actors was maintaining a middle-class lifestyle amid evolving industry dynamics. SAG's emphasis on securing fair compensation for streaming content aligns with addressing the disparity between the industry's modern streaming model and outdated payment structures.

As the strikes conclude, there's cautious optimism for positive developments on these crucial issues. The resolution also paves the way for the resumption of major productions, from sequels like Gladiator 2 to ongoing projects like Andor. Filmmakers and industry insiders express relief, anticipating a return to normalcy and a renewed focus on the evolving landscape of AI and streaming.

Key Takeaway: The Hollywood actors' strike's resolution marks a significant milestone, not only for the entertainment industry but also in shaping the future dynamics of AI and streaming. The inclusion of protective measures against AI misuse signals a step toward addressing the evolving challenges posed by technological advancements. The industry's ability to adapt to modern realities, ensuring fair compensation and safeguarding creative contributions, remains a crucial focal point as Hollywood moves forward.

Jim: There will be further developments in this space, you can count on it. Many see personalized, on-demand content at everyone’s fingertips at some point in the coming years. Think: “I feel like seeing Keanu Reeves as a spy, set in Paris circa 2010 - make it a thriller with some light comedy. But I only have 45 minutes available to watch the whole thing and I like Reznor/Ross for the soundtrack please.” And boom, you’re watching Reeves in action once again. Personally, I can’t wait!

Empowering AI Advancements: OpenAI Data Partnerships Unveiled for Enhanced Model Training

Summary:

• OpenAI introduces Data Partnerships, collaborating with organizations to build diverse datasets for AI model training.

• The initiative aims to create AI models that deeply understand various subjects, industries, cultures, and languages.

• Your contribution can enhance AI models' relevance by expanding their understanding of specific domains.

• Examples include partnerships with the Icelandic Government and the Free Law Project, demonstrating the program's versatility.

• OpenAI seeks large-scale datasets reflecting human society, encompassing text, images, audio, or video, with a focus on human intention.

• The partnership offers two avenues: an Open-Source Archive for public datasets and Private Datasets for proprietary AI model training.

• OpenAI employs advanced in-house AI technology for data digitization, ensuring sensitivity and access controls for private datasets.

In a groundbreaking move towards advancing artificial intelligence, OpenAI has unveiled its Data Partnerships initiative. This collaborative effort with external organizations aims to create comprehensive datasets for training AI models, with the ultimate goal of developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) that is both safe and beneficial for humanity.

Diving Deeper:

1. Purpose and Vision:

   • AI technology learns from data, shaping its understanding of the world, people, motivations, interactions, and communication.

   • OpenAI envisions AGI that comprehensively understands various subject matters, industries, cultures, and languages.

   • Your contribution, whether from a specific industry or country, can make AI models more relevant and helpful to your domain.

2. Notable Partnerships:

   • Collaborations with the Icelandic Government and Miðeind ehf aim to enhance GPT-4's proficiency in Icelandic using curated datasets.

   • Partnership with the Free Law Project involves integrating a vast collection of legal documents to democratize access to legal understanding.

3. Data Criteria:

   • OpenAI seeks large-scale datasets reflecting human society, encompassing text, images, audio, or video.

   • Emphasis on data expressing human intention, such as long-form writing or conversations, across various languages, topics, and formats.

4. Data Processing Capabilities:

   • OpenAI offers advanced in-house AI technology, including optical character recognition (OCR) for digitizing files like PDFs.

   • Automatic speech recognition (ASR) aids in transcribing spoken words, ensuring data is in the most useful form.

5. Ways to Partner:

   • Open-Source Archive: Collaboration to create public datasets for language model training, contributing to the open-source AI ecosystem.

   • Private Datasets: Ideal for organizations with proprietary data, ensuring enhanced understanding of specific domains while maintaining data privacy.

Key Takeaway:

OpenAI's Data Partnerships invite organizations to contribute to the evolution of AI, fostering a collective effort to train models that truly understand our world. By sharing diverse datasets, we can collectively progress towards the development of AGI that benefits all of humanity. The future of AI research lies in collaboration, and your involvement can shape the trajectory of this transformative journey.

You can submit your interest in partnering with OpenAI here.

Jim: This is a great initiative from my POV; we need effectively trained, yet trustworthy data to run our eventual AGIs. There are too many nefarious actors out there to NOT do this. Great effort from OpenAI here.