Hundreds of celebrities, including many liberals who have previously publicly insulted Donald Trump, are now begging for his help in pushing back against big tech proposals on AI.
President Trump unveiled a massive $500 billion plan to build up artificial intelligence projects in the United States on the first day of his second term.
The project called ‘Stargate’ will also create an estimated over 100,000 jobs.
OpenAI and Google told Washington next week that they believe American copyright laws allow AI companies to train systems using copyrighted work without permission.
The liberal stars – including Ben Stiller, Olivia Wilde, Cynthia Erivo, Aubrey Plaza, Paul McCartney, Mark Ruffalo and Cate Blanchett – are asking Trump to push back on this.
They write that if OpenAI and Google were allowed to do this, it would ‘freely exploit America’s creative and knowledge industries, despite [OpenAI and Google’s] substantial revenues and available funds.’
‘We firmly believe that America’s global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries,’ the letter says in part.
‘AI companies are asking to undermine this economic and cultural strength by weakening copyright protections for the films, television series, artworks, writing, music and voices used to train AI models at the core of multibillion-dollar corporate valuations.’
Hundreds of celebrities, including many liberals who have publicly insulted Donald Trump in the past, are now begging for his help in pushing back against big tech proposals on AI
The liberal stars – including Ben Stiller (pictured), Olivia Wilde , Cynthia Erivo , Aubrey Plaza , Paul McCartney , Mark Ruffalo and Cate Blanchett – are asking Trump to push back on this
Many of the stars who signed the letter have slammed the president in the past.
Stiller, one of the biggest names on the list, called a 2017 Trump press conference the ‘worst message I have ever heard a president put out to the world.’
‘I despise Donald Trump with all my guts, and his speech last night only confirmed what a pathetic, petulant, dishonest pig he is,’ wrote actress Olivia Wilde that same year.
Director Ron Howard, who also signed, said in 2020 Trump is ‘a self-serving, dishonest, morally bankrupt ego maniac who doesn’t care about anything or anyone but his fame and bank account.’
Mark Ruffalo said earlier this year: ‘There is no one keeping America safe from being looted by Trump and Elon.’
He also calls his performance in the box office bomb Mickey 17 an ‘understated’ imitation of Trump and called his character a ‘petty dictator,’ according to Deadline.
Other big-name signatories include: Guillermo del Toro, Natasha Lyonne, Paul McCartney, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Cord Jefferson, Bette Midler, Ava Duvernay, Paul Simon, Ángel Manuel Soto, Taika Waititi, Ayo Edebiri, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lily Gladstone, Sam Mendes, Brit Marling, Janelle Monáe, Bryn Mooser, Rian Johnson, Paul Giamatti, Maggie Gylenhall, Alfonso Cuaron, Judd Apatow, Kim Gordon, Chris Rock and Michaela Coel.
In January, Trump hosted SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and OpenAI’s Sam Altman in the Roosevelt Room Tuesday afternoon to tout $500 billion of investment to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the U.S.
‘I despise Donald Trump with all my guts, and his speech last night only confirmed what a pathetic, petulant, dishonest pig he is,’ wrote actress Olivia Wilde in 2017, now asking for Trump’s help
Mark Ruffalo said earlier this year: ‘There is no one keeping America safe from being looted by Trump and Elon’
Cynthia Erivo is another celebrity who signed the letter after being critical of Trump in the past
The new entity will be called Stargate.
The initiative will build data centers in Texas and work on generating more electricity to develop fast-moving AI.
‘What we want to do is we want to keep it in this country,’ Trump said. ‘China is a competitor, others are competitors.’
Ellison touted how AI could be used to improve patient care and cure diseases in the medical field.
The letter over 400 celebrities sent to Trump asking him to push back on AI proposals from Big Tech
Hello Friends & Strangers. As you may be aware there has recently been a recommendation by OpenAI & Google to the current US Administration that is gaining alarming traction to remove all legal protections & existing guardrails surrounding copyright law protections for the training of Artificial Intelligence. This rewriting of established law in favor of so-called ‘Fair Use’ was in need of an initial response by 11:59 PM ET Saturday, so we have submitted an initial letter with the signatories we had at that time.
We are now continuing to accept signatures for an amendment to our initial statement. Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think may be invested in the ethical maintenance of their intellectual property. You can add your name and whatever guilds or unions or description of self you feel appropriate, but please do not edit the letter itself. Thank you so much for kicking this out wide on a Saturday Night!
Hollywood’s Response to the Administration’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan and necessity that copyright law be upheld.
We, the members of America’s entertainment industry — representing an intersection of cinematographers, directors, producers, actors, writers, studios, production companies, musicians, composers, costume, sound & production designers, editors, gaffers, union and Academy Members, and other industrious, creative content professionals – submit this unified statement in response to the Administration’s request for input on the AI Action Plan.
We firmly believe that America’s global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries. America’s arts and entertainment industry supports over 2.3M American jobs with over $229Bn in wages annually, while providing the foundation for American democratic influence and soft power abroad. But AI companies are asking to undermine this economic and cultural strength by weakening copyright protections for the films, television series, artworks, writing, music, and voices used to train AI models at the core of multi-billion dollar corporate valuations.
Make no mistake: this issue goes well beyond the entertainment industry, as the right to train AI on all copyright-protected content impacts all of America’s knowledge industries. When tech and AI companies demand unfettered access to all data and information, they’re not just threatening movies, books, and music, but the work of all writers, publishers, photographers, scientists, architects, engineers, designers, doctors, software developers and all other professionals who work with computers and generate intellectual property. These professions are the core of how we discover, learn, and share knowledge as a society and as a nation. This issue is not just about AI leadership or about economics and individual rights, but about America’s continued leadership in creating and owning valuable intellectual property in every field.
It is clear that Google (valued at $2Tn) and OpenAI (valued at over $157Bn) are arguing for a special government exemption so they can freely exploit America’s creative and knowledge industries, despite their substantial revenues and available funds. There is no reason to weaken or eliminate the copyright protections that have helped America flourish. Not when AI companies can use our copyrighted material by simply doing what the law requires: negotiating appropriate licenses with copyright holders — just as every other industry does. Access to America’s creative catalog of films, writing, video content, and music is not a matter of national security. They do not require a government-mandated exemption from existing U.S. copyright law.
America didn’t become a global cultural powerhouse by accident. Our success stems directly from our fundamental respect for IP and copyright that rewards creative risk-taking by talented and hardworking Americans from every state and territory. For nearly 250 years, U.S. copyright law has balanced creator’s rights with the needs of the public, creating the world’s most vibrant creative economy. We recommend that the American AI Action Plan uphold existing copyright frameworks to maintain the strength of America’s creative and knowledge industries, as well as American cultural influence abroad.
