Hollywood urges Trump to protect film, TV from AI

The open letter - signed by over 400 actors, directors and artists - hits back against tech giants like Google and OpenAI.

Hundreds of Hollywood stars including Ben Stiller, Cate Blanchett and Cynthia Erivo have urged Donald Trump's White House to protect film, TV and music copyrights against big tech and artificial intelligence.

The open letter - signed by over 400 actors, directors and artists - hits back against tech giants like Google and OpenAI, who say their AI models must be allowed to train on a vast range of copyrighted work or risk being left behind by Chinese rivals.

But "weakening copyright protections" and allowing tech giants to "exploit America's creative and knowledge industries" would threaten "the world's most vibrant creative economy," says the Hollywood letter.

The US entertainment industry supports over 2.3 million jobs that generate some $230 billion in annual wages, as well as "providing the foundation for American democratic influence and soft power abroad," it says.

The intervention comes after Trump in January signed an executive order committing to remove "unnecessary government control" of AI and boost "America's global AI dominance."

The White House invited companies and other interested parties to submit suggestions.

Google and OpenAI said they must be allowed to train their AI models on the widest possible range of copyrighted content, warning that rival countries could otherwise gain a dangerous advantage.