What Hollywood thinks about existential AI warnings
SAG-AFTRA and WGAE leaders say AI existential warnings risk distraction from present harms to entertainment workers, urging enforceable guardrails.
The Verge asked Hollywood studios and AI startups to respond to recent existential AI warnings, including Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon's departure and alignment lead Evan Hubinger's claim that AI could kill humans within a decade; none responded. SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland credited union bargaining during the 2023 strikes for codified consent and compensation rules on AI digital replicas, while calling some extinction warnings potentially overblown. WGAE executive director Sam Wheeler said collective bargaining cannot replace government regulation and praised state-level rules like New York's in the absence of federal action.