Documentary Makers Lead the AI Regulation Charge
While documentary filmmaking may not be the first genre you think of when the special effects potential of AI is raised, it is a genre where trustworthiness and veracity are key watchwords. So it should come as no real surprise that one of the first pushes to codify guidelines for the use of Generative AI have come, not from the blockbuster arena, but from this cinematic niche. Brandon Blake, our entertainment attorney in Los Angeles from Blake & Wang P.A. takes a closer look at their suggestions.
Primary Source Material First
Created by a group of documentary filmmakers, producers, and archivists through the Archival Producers Alliance, the new guidelines seek to create a baseline for AI’s use in their niche of the industry. The use of ‘fake’ footage generated through AI has already crept into the documentary arena. While it opens up some wonderful doors for bringing the stories they tell to life, there is also considerably more potential for misfires and misleading ‘facts’ than in the entertainment side of the business.
Simple Guidelines
The group will release its full publication in June, but drafts of the document are already available. Their suggestions greenlight the use of GenAI to touch up and restore primary footage but urge caution on newly created visuals, significant alteration of primary sources, or anything that could mislead the audience through changed meaning. They are quick to point out that primary footage is, itself, not free of bias, but emphasize that this material still has a clarity of intent and context that AI itself does not have.
In cases where there would be no primary source, they urge caution with identified biases in the training data and urge documentary makers to remember the greater impact of footage they present on the historical record. They suggest marking AI use like true crime reenactments Interestingly, they also suggest seeking consent from subjects on how AI will be used.
In short, and as one would suspect from their niche, the APA is urging the industry to see AI as a way to better tell stories, rather than allowing it to ‘create’ fake narratives within a truth-focused field. While they may be speaking specifically to their niche, some valuable guidelines in the document could have wider applications within the industry and help provide some much-needed clarity on this rising new technology.
Comments
Post a Comment