‘This is an unbelievable moment in the course of human history’: Sean Astin on how he’s fighting for humanity against an onslaught of AI actors

It might seem incongruous for Samwise Gamgee or Drew Barrymore’s loving yet clueless brother from 50 First Dates to be acting as a labor leader and spokesperson for one of the US’s more valuable and arguably important industries, but Astin also has a degree in History in American Literature and Culture, and a Master’s in Public Administration and Public Policy. Having the context of history and the understanding of governance surely comes in handy at this crucial moment, and using those tools and the expanse of the world’s largest trade show to make sense of all of it is sort of genius.

“Issues surrounding AI are really important to our members. So, making sure we kind of have a command of what we’re talking about when I came into CES; I actually was sort of mission-focused.”

CES is a big show, but this year it’s almost as if the thousands of companies are all speaking with one voice and saying the same phrase: AI. Yet, the implementation of artificial intelligence is as varied as the companies and people behind them. How did Astin get a handle on it, sift through the forest to find the digital trees? He used AI, of course.

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Astin told me he used AI to help him sort through the materials, to prepare for the task, feeding that data into the AI, and he said, without mentioning the specific AI platform, then communicating with it to evaluate and understand the 2.5 million square feet of convention space.

“What it helped me do was kind of refine what my mission was for the two or three days that I was navigating this space.”

Put another way, Astin isn’t afraid to meet the enemy on its own turf, especially when it can help him accomplish a critical task.

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The mission, though, didn’t leave him much time to simply wander and enjoy the booths. “I was engaging with companies that do things like, you know, provenance, data, protection, and stuff like that.”

Diving this deep into the beating AI heart of CES was, in one way, to acknowledge its existence.

“There’s a moment at which, well, I see things all of civilization needs to be paying attention to it. But my focus as a labor leader is to figure out the point at which it crosses over as an entertainment or as a business…and moves into our area where it affects our members and their name image and likeness and their – the things where we have jurisdiction over covering and so forth,” explained Astin.

While much of the conversation about AI and actors seems to revolve around deep fakes of mostly big-named stars, anyone who’s seen up close how AI affects an industry knows that it’s often entry-level jobs and less high-profile positions that are at risk.

“Voiceover stuff, I think, is really imperiled at the moment, and we’re doing everything we can not just in bargaining but also from a public policy perspective,” explained Astin.

SAG-AFTRA is working on incorporating legal language that helps protect these creative workers, but its work in this space could have wider implications.

“Every industry in America is going through this, but I think we’re kind of in the forefront, because it’s such a visible usurpation of our work.”

The work is hard, with dozens of meetings, pitches, proposals, and working with communities like stunt workers to figure out how to protect their ideas and images.

Every industry in America is going through this, but I think we’re kind of in the forefront, because it’s such a visible usurpation of our work.

Another area of significant concern is background actors. AI is certainly adept at creating almost Non-Player Characters (NPCs) for content, and that could imperil background actors’ work and opportunities.

“Within our contract, there’s rules that a certain number of the background actors, for example, have to be hired within the union,…So if a digital replica is created, and it ends up fulfilling what would be 10 of those roles,” 10 human actors still have to be compensated in some way (like the contribution to their pension health plan).

While Astin acknowledges that this is an exciting frontier space, he also told me that “a healthy chunk of our membership is anti AI.”

These members are demanding that SAG-AFTRA force entertainment companies to behave in a certain way when it comes to AI, but to do that, SAG-AFTRA and more specifically, Sean Astin, the group’s chief spokesperson, must understand AI.

“Ultimately, you know, we have to be – I’m here at CES.. because…the moment demands that I be here.”

It’s perhaps the scale of what we’re all navigating in this AI age that is most astonishing and something Astin is clearly grappling with.

“This is an unbelievable moment in the course of human history. There have been certain moments, you know, the development of the wheel, the Industrial Revolution, and the advent of certain medical technologies, [and] transportation. This is one of them. This is one of the most impactful timesin all of human history.”

I asked Astin if he’s feeling net positive about where things are heading.

This is an unbelievable moment in the course of human history.

For now, he noted that the free-floating concern is about work displacement. “I don’t know that I’m optimistic or pessimistic about that. “

There are, though, some things Astin knows.

“I think it’s an absolute certainty that the workforce is going to be injured by this advancement in this technology.”

Astin also believes that the creative urge will not evaporate because of AI.

“The fact that there are people in my line of work who want to act, who want to make music, who want to direct movies and television, who want to produce them? They’re not going to stop doing that work because a technology is here, and I think because they’re passionate about it, the audiences will always be there.”