If the myth of tech over the past decade has been one of constant innovation, algorithmic scale, and new products and devices that “simply work,” the truth is that all of those illusions were made possible by the obfuscation of labor: the contract content moderators who sanitize the feeds of Facebook and YouTube from violence and extremist content; the warehouse workers at Amazon fulfillment centers trying to meet the guarantees of same-day shipping; the gig workers of all kinds — Uber drivers, food delivery cyclists, Instacart shoppers, among them — all of whom are at the whims of increasingly efficient platforms and wayward legislation.
And that’s not even to speak of the white-collar tech workforce that, while better compensated, is still being taken advantage of by NDAs and mandatory arbitration clauses that keep hidden the realities of discrimination and harassment in the office. But now, some workers across tech companies are organizing for better treatment and pay. Others are making efforts to unionize. Most importantly, the movement will reach everyone who works in tech — and anyone who uses those platforms. The story of the tech industry over the next decade will be the reckoning brought on by its workforce.
The Amazon-owned game streaming platform could lay off around 500 workers as soon as Wednesday, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Twitch laid off dozens of workers as part of Amazon’s company-wide cuts last year, and it recently shut down its service in South Korea due to “prohibitively expensive” costs.
Last year SAG-AFTRA signed a landmark new contract with the AMPTP that included protections around AI-generated performances.
Now it’s signed a contract with an AI voice acting company called Replica Studios that it hopes will make licensing AI performances of actors easier — particularly for video games.
Bloomberg reports that a spokesperson for the language learning app said Duolingo doesn’t as many people anymore to perform the contractors’ work, adding that “part of that could be attributed to AI.”
The spokesperson also said AI isn’t a “straight replacement” because workers are already using AI to help them work. Duolingo has long used AI, having incorporated chatbots in 2016 and OpenAI’s Chat GPT-4 early last year.
Hollywood’s entertainment studios seem dead set on incorporating artificial intelligence tools into their production workflows in ways that stand to put people out of jobs.
But during a recent studio executive roundtable discussion, Warner Bros. Animation president Sam Register stressed the importance of protecting human artists “because I think we should give jobs to people who really do that and so they can get their entry-level experience.”
The devastation of 2023’s great video game layoff continues. Today, Versus Evil, a publisher focusing on indie games including The Banner Saga and Pillars of Eternity II, announced that it’s closing — days before the Christmas holidays.
Lance James, head of production at Versus Evil, wrote that the closure “wasn’t a Versus Evil decision or choice” meaning the decision was likely handed down from parent company and Hello Neighbor publisher tinyBuild. Earlier this month, tinyBuild reported impending layoffs in the face of what it called an “incredibly challenging year.” It also received a $2 million dollars investment from Atari just yesterday.
This comes after workers at the eBay-owned TCGPlayer filed a complaint alleging eBay failed to recognize and bargain with the newly formed TCG Union-CWA. The NLRB found merit in these charges, but it’s still waiting to hear eBay’s response before it hands down a final decision.
[Campaign to Organize Digital Employees]
In a memo obtained by CNBC, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman told employees that the handmade marketplace is laying off 11 percent of workers. Silverman cites a “challenging macro and competitive environment,” adding that gross merchandise sales “has remained essentially flat since 2021.”
Microsoft says it’s partnered with the United States’ largest federation of unions in a move that aims to ease workers into a “new AI era.”
That apparently involves AI “learning sessions”, hosting labor summits, and supporting governmental policies that will “equip workers with the essential skills, knowledge and economic support needed to thrive in an AI-powered economy.” Oh, and AI curriculum on LinkedIn tailored to the fields “most impacted by AI.”
A judge had ruled in November that postal workers who, in solidarity with Tesla’s unionized Swedish mechanics, refused to deliver the plates had to let Tesla pick them up. But Fortune writes that another Swedish court overturned the ruling pending a final decision.
The strike began when Tesla refused to bargain with around 120 unionized Swedish mechanics. Soon, other unions joined, including dockworkers and postal workers, then the strike spread to unions in Denmark and Norway.
The lawsuit, which was certified on Friday, is “the largest ever certified under California’s Equal Pay Act,” Variety reports.
VR studio Tender Claws and the Tender Claws Human Union have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement, and it’s “one of the first union contracts for video game developers in the US,” according to a press release. Proposals in the agreement include pay scales, codifying LGBTQIA+ inclusive benefits, benefits like dental insurance, and codifying virtual reality breaks.
Tender Claws is currently developing Stranger Things VR.
[Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA)]
Dream Scenario’s Nic Cage wants you to know that there’s a difference between maximalism and pushing the boundaries of filmmaking as an art.
Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted in favor (78.33 percent to 21.67 percent) of the agreement negotiated last month with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that represents the studios.
The new deal runs through June 30th, 2026, following the first time in 63 years that the unions for actors and writers were on strike at the same time.
SAG-AFTRA:
The deal includes more than $1 billion in new compensation and benefit plan funding, along with outsized gains to the traditional residuals formulas. It offers a new compensation model for performers working in streaming, with a substantial bonus on top of existing residuals structures, plus compensation escalation for principal and background actors. Additionally, the deal establishes detailed informed consent and compensation guardrails for the use of AI, hair and makeup equity, meaningful protections for the casting process, sexual harassment prevention protections and more.
In 2016, an employee sued Google for having too strict of a confidentiality program, which allegedly discouraged workers from reporting illegal activity in violation of California’s labor laws.
Google’s decision to settle means the majority of the $27 million will go to the state of California, while employees will get anywhere from $20 to $70, according to Semafor. A Google spokesperson tells the publication “that resolution of the matter, without any admission of wrongdoing, is in the best interest of everyone.”
It still isn’t entirely clear how the advent of AI filmmaking tech is going to disrupt the entertainment industry.
But it feels pretty significant that Amazon reportedly fired longtime producer Joel Silver not of his alleged harassment towards female executives, but as retaliation in response to his refused to “Use artificial intelligence to finish a movie during the strike.
When SAG-AFTRA finally reached a tentative agreement to bring the actors strike to an end earlier this month, the union’s insistence that its members might not be able to look over the deal before voting on it raised more than a few eyebrows.
It seemed odd that union leadership might try to get people on board with the contract without giving them a chance to read the whole thing. But now the union’s released the full document — on the Friday evening after Thanksgiving of all days.
[Twitter]
For good reason, some actors are questioning how SAG-AFTRA’s new labor contract will protect them from artificial intelligence.
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two was one of the handful of upcoming Warner Bros. releases whose premiere dates were delayed in response to the the now-concluded labor strikes.
But now that the industry’s ramping back up, Warner Bros. is getting a jump on things by moving the film’s premiere from March 15th to March 1st.
In a memo sent to employees, Daniel Rausch, the vice president of the Alexa and Fire TV team, says Amazon is eliminating “several hundred roles” as the company looks to build up efforts in AI:
As we continue to invent, we’re shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities, and what we know matters most to customers — which includes maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI. These shifts are leading us to discontinue some initiatives, which is resulting in several hundred roles being eliminated.
According to the charge, Sega of America apparently shared a proposal with the Sega union’s bargaining committee that said the company would be phasing out all temporary employees, a group that represents about 40 percent of the bargaining unit — then, Sega announced the proposal to the entire company.
“We believe this is a clear case of bad faith bargaining,” the CWA, which represents the Sega union, said in the charge.
The FAA still hasn’t cleared SpaceX to attempt another Starship orbital launch from its Boca Chica, TX, site after the first one caused significant damage to the pad and surrounding environment. SpaceX’s website and this teaser trailer indicate it’s ready to try again as soon as November 17th.
Those are also popping up on the same day as a report from Reuters documenting 600 injuries to SpaceX workers since 2014.
The records included reports of more than 100 workers suffering cuts or lacerations, 29 with broken bones or dislocations, 17 whose hands or fingers were “crushed,” and nine with head injuries, including one skull fracture, four concussions and one traumatic brain injury.
Musk himself at times appeared cavalier about safety on visits to SpaceX sites: Four employees said he sometimes played with a novelty flamethrower and discouraged workers from wearing safety yellow because he dislikes bright colors.
The Last of Us developer announced head of technology Christian Gyrling is leaving the company after 17 years. In addition to layoffs, Naughty Dog has seen quite a few executive departures, with co-president Evan Wells and narrative designer Josh Scherr leaving earlier this year.
