List of All Articles with Tag 'w'

Australia’s incoming central bank chief Michele Bullock faces a challenging initiation to the role as she moves to

Hollywood’s actors and writers have both gone on strike for the first time since 1960 to protest against a number of decisions by major studios that include not just job cuts but also a potentially unsettling future in which they could be replaced by artificial intelligence. The leaders of SAG-AFTRA, the Hollywood union representing 160,000 television and movie actors, went on strike on Thursday, joining the industry’s screenwriters who have already been picketing for over 70 days. Among the many issues flagged by both the writers and actors in the protests has been how generative AI tools could replace their roles in the industry. Over the last decade, AI has found several uses in the movie and television industry, from de-aging actors, analysing patterns and behaviours of viewers on streaming platforms, bringing back the voices of late actors and even helping stitch together entire movie trailers. One of the proposals, as explained by SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, feels like it is straight out of dystopian science fiction series Black Mirror. During a press conference on Thursday, Mr Crabtree-Ireland alleged that a proposal from Hollywood studios was to use “groundbreaking AI” to scan background performers and only offer them a day’s pay while the companies get to own the scans and use them for any project they want. “This ‘groundbreaking’ AI proposal that they gave us yesterday, they proposed that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get one day’s pay, and their companies should own that scan, their image, their likeness and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity on any project they want, with no consent and no compensation,” the executive said. “If you think that’s a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again,” Mr Crabtree-Ireland said. A statement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), that represents the studios, claims the “groundbreaking AI” proposal “protects actors’ digital likenesses for SAG-AFTRA members”. “We are being victimized by a very greedy enterprise... The entire business model has been changed by streaming and AI If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in jeopardy,” the actors’ guild president Fran Drescher said on Thursday. Follow along here for real-time updates on the SAG-AFTRA strike Writers who have already been protesting since May have also sought assurances from studios that their jobs would not be threatened by AI. With the steady rise of online streaming services looking to rack up user subscriptions by churning out endless amounts of digital content, writers on strike have sought new pay structures, guaranteed periods of work as well as better discussions on the limits of AI use. Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) shared concerns that producers may seek to use AI to write scripts or at least use the technology to complete unfinished screenplays, and have also urged production houses to agree to safeguards around its usage. Screenwriters fear AI could be used to churn out a rough first draft with a few simple prompts and writers may then be hired after this initial step to punch such drafts up – albeit at a lower pay rate. Without further dialogue with studios, writers have raised concerns there could be a number of new ways that AI could be used to craft outlines for stories, fill in scenes and even come up with mock-up drafts. “There are ways it can be useful. But too many people are using it against us and using it to create mediocrity. They’re also in violation of copyright. They’re also plagiarizing,” Michael Winship, president of the WGA East, said in May. With these risks in mind, the WGA seeks more safeguards on how AI can be applied to the screenwriting process. Read More Hollywood actors and writers strike after ‘disgusting’ studios turn down deal. Here’s what it means for you Hollywood in historic shutdown as actors union joins writers strike: ‘The eyes of the world are upon us’ Cast of Oppenheimer walk out of UK premiere ahead of actors’ strike announcement What happens next as striking actors send Hollywood into meltdown? Issa Rae and Jamie Lee Curtis lead A-listers voicing support for actors strike Hollywood in historic shutdown as actors union joins writers strike

Michael Strahan's daughter Isabella has already planned her move away from her father to Los Angeles for college

An Iowa judge will consider a request to postpone the state’s new ban on most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, just as Gov. Kim Reynolds is scheduled to sign the measure into law

Greece has introduced emergency measures to help workers cope with temperatures of more than 40C as the Cerberus heatwave grips Europe. The country has introduced the mandatory stoppage of work where there is heat stress from 12-5pm and high risk members of the public service will work from home. Temperatures in Greece could top 44C in the days to come while already in Spain the ground temperature has reached 60C. A heat map for Europe has turned to dark red and even black in areas because of the severity of the extreme weather, with forecasters noting that the heatwave could last for up to two weeks. One person has already died as a result. The 44-year-old worker was reportedly painting a zebra crossing in 40C heat in the town of Lodi outside Milan, Italy, at midday on Tuesday when he collapsed. The scorching heat is being driven by the rising global temperature as well as El Nino – a cyclic climate pattern which makes many places a lot hotter. There is also extreme heat in the US, and you can follow the blog for that here. Read More Land temperatures in Spain surpass 60C as deadly heatwave sweeps Europe UK weather: Met Office issues two yellow warnings as Britons brace for ‘unusual’ winds Europe heatwave: Is it safe to travel to Italy, Spain, Greece and Croatia?

By Maggie Fick LONDON Soaring U.S. demand for Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug has reduced the pressure from investors

Video journalist Arman Soldin was killed in a rocket attack close to Bakhmut in May.

Two former officers of a federal women’s prison in California have pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual abuse

The news of Amy Robach and TJ Holmes' romance was first leaked in November 2022 after they were seen getting cozy on numerous outings together

North Korea’s U.N. ambassador has defended his country’s recent long-range missile launch in a rare appearance at the U.N. Security Council

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he discussed Telsa Inc.’s investments in the Southeast Asian country during a

Unrelenting bloodshed across the U.S. this year has led to the grimmest of milestones: The deadliest six months of mass killings recorded since at least 2006