Deadline has reported that a group of international workers’ unions is planning to stage a protest at the Annecy Animation Festival in France. This Thursday afternoon, they plan to gather to raise awareness of the dangers of AI in the field of animation.

Deadline details how the protest could make quite an impact, with 18,000 guests from throughout the industry expected to attend the event. The festival is set to feature roundtables and panels discussing AI and animation. These topics are some of the hottest around, even outside of the industry. They also claim that there were several titles screened that used AI to some extent. Investors and executives may be looking to see what money can be saved with the use of all the new AI technology on the market. Meanwhile, the animators who are set to potentially be displaced by these tools are looking to make a statement.

Axios recently reported that the true extent of job displacement due to AI may be being underreported. They are referring to it as an impending “white-collar bloodbath.” They report Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, creator of the next-gen AI chatbot Claud, as saying AI could wipe out half of all white-collar entry-level jobs, and that the government needs to stop sugarcoating it. Amodie reveals that a possible scenario is that “Cancer is cured, the economy grows at 10% a year, the budget is balanced — and 20% of people don’t have jobs.”

Deadline details how the workers’ unions from all over the globe released a joint statement demanding action regarding the issue. Below is the statement:

“ANIMATION INDUSTRY IN DANGER WORLD UNIONS DECLARE EMERGENCY IN THE FACE OF GENERATIVE Al USE

This statement was composed by a collective of international Animation Unions, federations, and organisations calling for action in regards to the usage of generative Artificial Intelligence and its destructive impact, not only on the global animation industry and the craft itself, but also on everyone who is employed by it, our culture and our planet.

The animation industry is suffering, after the explosion of the streaming bubble and the pandemic. The workers are feeling the repercussions : mass layoffs, increased use of outsourcing, closure of studios, decreasing budgets etc. Generative Al is seen by some as an answer to this crisis : a near magical tool that can produce words, images and sounds from a simple and vague description. But GenAl is neither a tool, nor effective, nor cheap. It is a copying machine that is flawed, destructive and expensive to run, threatening creative innovation and jobs in multiple industries.

GenAl do NOT support artists, it destroys them. The absence of humans is a feature, not a bug, of GenAl. It promises only the loss of employment and livelihood for millions of people worldwide.

This same technology is being used to foster dissent, confusion and distrust among the public. This unchecked growth and unjustified techno-optimism comes with incredible environmental consequences, including expanding demand for computing power, larger carbon footprints, shifts in patterns of electricity and water demands and an accelerated depletion of natural resources.

As such, there is a need for protection frameworks around GenAl, centered around transparency, compensation, control on the use of the work of the creator, and informed consent.

We call upon the regulators, lawmakers and governments to fight for culture and art and the value it provides, to draft and implement legislation that protects those workers and those rights.

We call upon producers, showrunners, studioheads, broadcasters and production staff to protect our creative culture and to prioritize both the workers and our work.

We call upon all creative workers worldwide to unite, speak up against the implementation of Al and unionise.

We invite all workers, students and allies to join us in Annecy festival, to discuss concerns and defense against GenAl, and to hear unions representatives read the statement on Thursday, June 12th, at 2 PM, on the Paquier.

Unions, Organisations and Federations behind this intiative: SNTPCT, SPIAC-CGT, CNT, Animation Workers of Ireland, l’ABRACA (Association Belge Regroupant les Auteur·ice·s Créateur·ice·s de l’Animation), Kunstenbond, Unie Van Regisseurs, Les Intervalles, Guilde Française des Scénaristes,Syndicat des Scénaristes, SFA, SNAM, STJV, GWU Ireland, CSVI-CGT, UNI, FIA, FIM.”

Update:

3DVF claims that as many as 100 to 150 protesters showed up to gather on a large lawn in front of the Bonlieu. They were reported to have called for industry leaders to prioritize artists over AI.