Dockworkers on strike in Portsmouth, Virgina on 1 October. JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ/REUTERS
This week, 45,000 dockworkers on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts went on strike demanding “absolute airtight language that there will be no automation or semi-automation”, costing billions of dollars a day and prompting Chris Wilson-Smith (The Globe and Mail) to recall a strike last year in his weekly review:
Last summer (2023), it was already screenwriters and actors in Hollywood who went on strike for several months to be better protected from AI after (among others) Prince Royal, an extra on “The Flash” had to decide whether to submit a 360-degree image scan – or leaving without pay.
Justine Bateman, Sharon Lawrence and “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner picketing outside of Netflix studios on 8 August 2023. GC IMAGES
While there is consensus that copyright protection must be maintained, the article concluded with a statement from CJ Bangah (a leading consultant at PwC in entertainment and media practice), “the real question the industry faces is how people can get past their fear about AI and start to unlock its potential” – instead of fighting the future.
…what brings us back to the latest news: just last week, the Governor of California vetoed a bill that aimed impose stricter regulations on AI developers in order to reduce this very public concern:
https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SB-1047-Veto-Message.pdf
In a state where 32 of the world’s 50 largest AI companies are headquartered, the fear of stifling growth and innovation seems to prevail. A missed opportunity?
Enjoy your weekend!
Full source: https://secure.campaigner.com/csb/Public/show/e7a4-2uyrh8–184ki9-l2hjy1n8
Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law
Addendum: The recently announced Nobel Prize winner in physics, Geoffrey Hinton, with a different emphasis on the “real question”:
“I want to emphasize that AI is going to do tremendous good,” Dr. Hinton told The Globe and Mail after learning of his Nobel win. “In areas like health care, it’s going to be amazing. That’s why its development is never going to be stopped. The real question is, can we keep it safe?”
Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-canadas-geoffrey-hinton-ai-pioneer-co-wins-nobel-prize-in-physics-with/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Business%20Brief&utm_content=2024-10-9_7&utm_term=Business%20Brief%3A%20Three%20signposts%20in%20the%20AI%20revolution&utm_campaign=newsletter&cu_id=VtK9PBEpntBIBpZPk0eTSwkXwvnc75I0uiv8kQAIT3Y%3D#comments