A few days ago, OpenAI and Google lobbied the government for permission to train their artificial intelligence models on copyrighted works and without prior consent from their creators. Both entities argued that this was “a matter of national security”. This request was made as part of the “AI Action Plan” launched by the Trump administration and consisted of seek input from private sector organizations, industry groups, and governments on the thorny issue of machine learning tools. This would strengthen the US position, as China continues to advance at lightning speed with DeepSeek and others.
OpenAI wrote, for example: “There is no doubt that AI developers in the PRC [People's Republic of China] will have unlimited access to data, including copyrighted data, that will improve their models. If PRC developers have unlimited access to data and US companies are deprived of fair access, the AI race is well and truly over. “ These statements were quick to provoke a reaction, particularly from the cultural industry. Two years after an unprecedented joint strike by actors and screenwriters, where the question of the use of AI was central, a collective of 400 Hollywood personalities urges the President to exercise caution.
“America did not become a global cultural power by chance”
In a letter addressed to the Trump administration, and in particular to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, 400 personalities from the film and television industry call for continuing to apply strict limitations.
According to them, companies like Google and OpenAI are seeking to weaken this economic and cultural force by overriding copyright protection. “When tech and AI companies demand unlimited access to all data and information, they threaten not just movies, books, and music, but the work of all writers, publishers, photographers, scientists, architects, engineers, designers, doctors, software developers, and all other professionals who work with computers and generate copyright.” intellectual property”. The collective recalls the valuation of the two companies (Google 2000 billion dollars) and OpenAI (157 billion) and that they are capable of negotiating with the rights holders the appropriate licenses for this type of experimentation. They recommend that the "American Action Plan for AI maintain existing frameworks to preserve the power of the creative industries."
Signatories include several big names from Hollywood, such as Ben Stiller (Severance), Mark Ruffalo, Guillermo del Toro, Natasha Lyonne, Paul McCartney, Cynthia Erivo, Cate Blanchett, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Lily Gladstone, Sam Mendes, and Alfonso Cuaron. Note that other signatories are still coming forward, but deadlines imposed by the Trump administration forced the collective to send the letter without having collected all possible signatures.
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