AWG welcomes Screen Australia guidelines on Artificial Intelligence

08 September, 2024

The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) welcomes Screen Australia’s key principles for the approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a positive step forward for the agency and wider industry.   

AWG and AWGACS Group CEO Claire Pullen said: “We’re pleased to see these guidelines provide a clear direction on what the ethical use of AI should look like in the screen industry, and what we can expect from the agency.” 

“We welcome the assurance from Screen Australia that the rights of screen practitioners and their intellectual property will be protected, including in the training of data or generated outputs from AI systems, and the focus on First Nations cultural material, which is particularly vulnerable to exploitation.” 

“These principles came about following extensive advocacy and consultation by the Australian Writers’ Guild and our fellow craft-based Guilds. Our position remains that the only ethical framework for the use of AI in the screen industry is one that ensures consent, credit and compensation for creatives.” 

The Australian Writers’ Guild, Australian Writers’ Guild Authorship Collecting Society, Australian Screen Editors Guild, Australian Production Design Guild and Australian Cinematographers Guild made a joint submission to the Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence in May this year, highlighting the threat that unregulated AI use poses to the Australian creative industries, and proposing guidelines for the safe and responsible use of AI in the Arts. 

Read our joint submission to the Adopting Artificial Intelligence inquiry HERE.  

For more information, read the Screen Australia key guidelines HERE.