The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has issued further clarification to its members on talks around artificial intelligence (AI) in its negotiations with the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC).

A notice to members, obtained by Playback Daily, was issued Thursday morning (April 18) to address “reports and rumours circulating” on certain bargaining points around the Independent Production Agreement (IPA) currently up for renewal.

The majority of the notice touches on negotiations surrounding AI protections for WGC members, which has been one of the core issues at the bargaining table since talks began last October.

The CMPA stated that it has “never refused to agree to the disclosure of AI-generated materials provided to writers at either the script stage or in development work covered by the IPA.” The notice continued that the IPA only defines a writer as human, and that AI-generated materials would not be considered as script material or a first draft via terms of the IPA.

The association also stated that it has “never asked” for a stipulation in the IPA for producers to be allowed to use WGC member material to train AI.

“That is simply not something the CMPA seeks and any suggestion otherwise is grossly misleading,” read the notice. “However, the WGC is demanding a blanket prohibition on training AI that goes further than the AI protections that WGA writers achieved after a lengthy strike, and this has the potential to do more harm than good for Canadian projects.”

As AI is a fast-developing technology across all sectors, there is uncertainty on how AI will be considered by domestic and international licensees and the implications for marketing and distribution materials, read the notice. “Furthermore, the fact remains that producers will ultimately have no control over the use of a project’s transcript once a project has been released,” it concluded.

Much discussion around talks has surfaced on social media as the WGC undergoes a strike authorization vote, with the deadline set for 3 p.m. ET on April 23. Among the claims are that the CMPA would use AI to create concepts and development materials, and that it has negotiated for the ability for producers to use WGC member scripts to train AI.

The CMPA also mentioned in the notice that it “has never refused to meet with the WGC” or indicated an impasse in negotiations.

“Any suggestion otherwise is, at best, inaccurate. In fact, on March 25 we advised WGC leadership that we were working on a revised offer. And early last week, the WGC was notified of our intention to meet so we could present the proposal. We continue to try to schedule a meeting to do so.”

Neither the CMPA or the WGC were able to comment due to an ongoing media blackout during the mediation process. In a prior notice to members, the WGC indicated other key issues in negotiations include increased compensation for animation writers and minimum involvement of members during production.

The WGC called for a strike authorization vote earlier this month to aid in its bargaining process with the CMPA, noting that a yes note would not automatically result in a strike. The current IPA expired on Dec. 31, 2023.

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images