Star Wars: Andor creator is taking a stance against AI by canceling plans to release its scripts, and I completely get why rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies) | usagoldmines.com

• Star Wars Andor creator Tony Gilroy has canceled plans to publish the scripts of the show
• The scripts from season one were set to release, but AI is the reason they’re not being published
• It’s part of a growing trend of the content that AI models are being trained on

AI companies will do anything to get their hands on material to train AI models – just look at what’s happening with music streaming services. It’s only a matter of time before these companies start targeting other areas in the entertainment industry, but the creator of one of the best Disney Plus shows is already taking a stance against the looming reign of AI.

Tony Gilroy, the creator of the Star Wars spin-off series Andor, has pulled the plug on his initial plans to publish the scripts from the show’s first season out of fear that his work could be used as material for training AI models. In an interview with Collider, Gilroy shared, “I wanted to do it. We put it together. It’s really cool. I’ve seen it, I loved it. AI is the reason we’re not.”

The decision to back out doesn’t come easy for Gilroy, who announced his plans to launch a website showcasing not only Andor’s written elements but also a selection of concept art back in 2023.

Still, despite this difficult decision ahead of the imminent release of Andor season two on April 22, it’s clear that Gilroy has grave concerns about the threat that AI has on creative individuals – and I’m glad to see that more artists are taking action to protest AI’s place in the entertainment industry.

I’ll say it again, we’re witnessing a cultural genocide

For AI, ‘permission’ is a word that ceases to exist. Gilroy is just one of the many concerned figures who have actively expressed a need to protect their work in a culture where AI is infiltrating streaming services daily – mainly for user experience reasons. Still, films and TV shows themselves remain open targets for AI to steal for training purposes.

While notable figures such as Christopher Nolan have called for tighter restrictions on AI, this is the first time I’ve seen the threat of AI cause a screenwriter to take action like this since the SAG strikes. But AI has only scratched the surface with film and TV – you get things like this all the time with music.

A prime example is the silent protest album, Is This What We Want?, which was released in light of a UK government proposal allowing AI companies to use copy-righted music to train models and algorithms.

Artists from Kate Bush to Annie Lennox banded together to compile a silent album of ambient tracks of empty creative spaces. Though this won’t actively get the government to change its mind on the proposal, it’s succeeding in showing what it could mean for the future of the music industry while using the streaming profits to raise money for music charities.

Screenwriters and musicians alike should be able to share and publish their work without fear of it being used to enhance AI models. Some of us actually like to read the scripts behind our favorite shows.

I have no doubt that AI developers will eventually get bored of taking existing scripts and music to enhance algorithms and will then find a way to infiltrate the creative process altogether.

Though plenty of AI music software can already whip up a quick beat (thanks, Suno), how long will it be before AI-generated music albums go mainstream or when feature AI-generated movies become a thing?

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