Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) members held a rally outside Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on Friday.

Even though it was a hot summer day, a lot of actors and writers came together to talk about their problems with Hollywood companies and streaming platforms. Their biggest worry was that they didn’t have fair relationships with their unions.

Protesters showed unity and solidarity as they chanted “Whose stories? Our stories” and talked about pay, residuals, and the state of the entertainment business as a whole. But their main concern was the growing power of artificial intelligence (AI), which they see as a major threat. The protesters say that AI lets companies use actors’ likenesses without paying them or getting their permission.

Bri Collins, who is known for her role in Amazon’s The Underground Railroad, is worried about how AI will affect background actors, who often make low wages but rely on their roles to move up in their careers. She was very angry that producers were using scans of actors without their permission and asked that they pay them fairly for doing so.

Nicole Vigil, a voice actor known for her work in video games like Harry Potter: Magic Awakened and Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery, complained that companies were taking too long to follow AI rules.

Even though they were worried about AI, the protesters made it clear that their goal is not to get rid of it, but to set rules for how it should be used and stop it from being abused. Brian Lee, a 30-year-old actor, pointed out the big difference in pay between actors and high-earning CEOs and studio execs. He did this to show how urgently the industry needs AI regulations to make sure everyone gets a fair share of the benefits.