Artificial Authorship on the Big Screen: Regulating Ai in Scriptwriting

Authors

Cassie Larson

Abstract

While the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) offers exciting, new creative possibilities for the entertainment industry, it also threatens to replace or undercompensate the humans who have been at the backbone of the industry since its inception. AI’s increasing ability to generate human-quality content raises concerns about job displacement and copyright ownership for scriptwriters. While the recent Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike secured several protections, the unique and rapidly evolving nature of AI requires that further legal safeguards be created. This Note argues for additional regulations to ensure that AI remains a collaborative tool for scriptwriters and not a replacement. The regulation would protect scriptwriters’ creative contributions by potentially limiting studios’ ability to freely train AI with past works. While this Note primarily addresses the challenges scriptwriters face, it also sets the stage for a broader discussion regarding AI and human collaboration in the workforce.

Recommended Citation

Cassie Larson, Artificial Authorship on the Big Screen: Regulating Ai in Scriptwriting, 47 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 27 (2024).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol47/iss1/3