Disney and Universal have been stepping up legal action against companies they believe are profiting from (what they feel is) the unlawful use of their copyrighted works.

Midjourney, along with other AI platforms, has pushed back, claiming its activities fall under fair use. The company has also pointed out that employees at both Disney and Universal hold accounts and actively use its tools in their own creative workflows.

This is part of a wider legal landscape — for example, Getty Images is suing Stability AI for allegedly copying its photo library to train the Stable Diffusion model.

Why Actors Should Pay Attention

The outcome of this lawsuit could set a precedent for whether actors can truly stop AI companies from training their models on content that includes their performances.

If studios lose the power to block AI training on their IP, it could make it far harder for actors to restrict AI companies from training on their faces and voices — essentially meaning that if content is publicly viewable online, AI companies might also claim the right to use it for training.

If AI Can Freely Train Off Your Performances, Why Hire a Real Performer?

Much of what’s happening in AI policy is beyond any one person’s control.

We can — and must — be vocal about what we in the acting community believe are appropriate guardrails, and at Acting Pal, we will always champion for your voices to be heard. But we must be realistic: legal and political momentum can be slow to shift.

As for the risk of AI replacing real performers, my view is that no matter how much data these models get, text/image inputs alone are insufficient for generating high-quality video outputs that truly capture performance. For the foreseeable future, authentic video references will still be essential.

The Real Opportunity

So, keep honing your craft. Despite the noise about AI replacing talent, the conversations I’m having suggest the opposite: demand for high-quality performances is set to rise.

Actors who focus on delivering compelling, authentic work — whether on set or in self tapes — will be the ones best positioned, no matter what AI can or cannot do.