Stranger Things’ Matthew Modine Blasts New SAG-AFTRA Deal, Takes Aim at AI Language

Matthew Modine is the latest actor to come out against the new SAG-AFTRA deal, which was reached after the 100+ day long strike ended just a few weeks ago. In a lengthy statement posted to social media, titled “When consent is not consensual,” the Stranger Things and Full Metal Jacket star wrote an extensive account about why he will be voting “No” on the new deal for the union. One major provision of the entire deal is what Modine took issue with, the potential for studios to use artificial intelligence to recreate performers either visually or using their voice.

“While there are improvements and gains, I will not vote to ratify the contract. Members should vote their conscience. I cannot endorse a contract that compromises the independence and financial futures of the performers. As a National Board Member, it’s morally mandatory to stand beside and provide protection for fellow members. Especially those beginning their careers, those unable to defend themselves, and in this case, their identities, their voices, and their physicality, from being taken away by a technology that no one fully understands.’

“It demands a warning to members that says do not consent to the terms of employment defined by the terms within this contract. Consenting to these terms is a pre-negotiation that will take control of the financial and creative future of every working member of SAG-AFTRA. Consent is surrender…Agreeing to consent means contractually giving a go-ahead to our employers to digitally capture and reconstruct our physicality and our voices using artificial intelligence. Once this information is collected, a member can be regenerated whenever and however the contract holder chooses forever.”

Modine went on to invoke a recent 60 Minutes episode where Geoffrey Hinton, known as “The Godfather of AI,” offered a warning about the use of artificial intelligence potentially replacing an entire class of people. He goes on to call actors giving consent for their physical and verbal likeness “A Faustian bargain,” adding that if this contract is approved that any future deals could result in members being required to accept the use of AI in recreating them as “a condition of employment.”

SAG-AFTRA is set to release the new agreement in full this week, but prior to this the guild has teased elements of the deal by calling it “historic” and “seminal.” Modine takes issue with this framing, comparing these adjectives for the deal to McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets. He writes:

“Not being fully informed about this contract is like being told that Chicken McNuggets are only made of chicken meat. Imagine how disappointed members would be if they learned what they were actually being fed. Not sharing the entire contract is irresponsible. Spinning the benefits of the contract as “historic” and “seminal” is as disingenuous as McDonald’s saying McNuggets are not grey goop balls filled with chemicals, antibiotics, beaks, ligaments, and chicken butts.”

The actor theorized that the new SAG-AFTRA contract would have a major impact on sister union IATSE, since digitally replacing actors would result in productions needing fewer crew people on the whole. Modine concluded his statement by praising the solidarity among the SAG-AFTRA union members during the 100+ days of the actual strike, noting that this same commitment must continue as they work toward finalizing a deal that works for all of the membership. His final lines read:

“We must continue to demand financial participation in the work we collectively create. Going back to the negotiation room and continuing to work on the issues surrounding AI and consent does not negate nor will it dismantle the benefits the contract now holds. Going back into the negotiating room with a sincere effort to further protect members and to more accurately interpret the rules of ‘consent’ and the uses of AI is the necessary next step we must make.”