The film industry is currently facing unprecedented challenges as traditional theaters struggle to maintain relevance in the shadow of dominant streaming services and increasingly premature digital releases. In recent years, the rise of AI technology has sparked both excitement and concern, revealing capabilities that many find unsettling. A significant issue that was raised during the strikes by the Actors’ Guild and Writers’ Guild was the potential for studios to exploit AI as a means to reduce costs while undermining the livelihoods of working artists. While Hollywood grapples with this complex issue, the Chinese film industry is embracing AI, having recently announced a feature-length movie produced entirely by AI, titled A Better Tomorrow.

In a move reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Universal Pictures is adopting a proactive strategy aimed at limiting the use of their films for AI training. Typically, AI programs require existing assets as a foundation for generating new content. Therefore, starting this summer with anticipated releases like How to Train Your Dragon, Jurassic World: Rebirth, and Bad Guys 2, the studio has added a legal notice in their credits stating that their films “may not be used to train AI.” This warning further emphasizes that “This motion picture is protected under the laws of the United States and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.”

While similar statements have historically been employed to combat general film piracy, Universal is extending this practice to encompass the data mining and content-pulling activities associated with AI. This means that elements such as images, voices, music, or any other content cannot be utilized to train AI systems. According to THR, this warning also references a 2019 European Union copyright law that allows creators to opt out of having their work used in scientific research by explicitly reserving their rights, a law that has faced opposition from major tech companies.

As the influence of AI continues to expand within the film industry, Universal is adopting a more aggressive stance due to the concerning implications that go beyond the beneficial aspects of AI tools. Recently, Edward Saatchi of Fable Studios announced that Amazon has invested in a groundbreaking AI platform named Showrunner, which enables users to create new episodes with just a few words as prompts. Saatchi remarked, “Hollywood streaming services are about to become two-way entertainment: audiences watching a Season of a show, loving it will now be able to make new episodes with a few words and become characters with a photo. Our relationship to entertainment will be totally different in the next 5 years. We can do so much more with AI.”