After months of negotiations, unions and producers in Germany have agreed on collective bargaining rules for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in film and television production.

The agreement was announced by the German producers’ alliance, the services union Verdi, and the actors’ union BFFS on Monday.

The Verdi union said the new regulation was intended to ensure that digital replicas of actors are not used without their consent.

In the future, the consent of the actors would be required and they would be entitled to remuneration.

The agreement, intended to supplement the industry’s collective agreement, would come into force on March 1.

It would initially apply until June 30, 2026.

It regulates so-called generative AI, which learns patterns from training data and makes new content with the help of algorithms.

The spokesperson for the board of the producer’s alliance, Björn Böhning, believed that the AI collective agreement sets a benchmark.

“For the first time, an industry in Germany has set itself rules for the use of generative AI, and we can be proud of that,’’ he said.

Verdi board member Christoph Schmitz-Dethlefsen added that the agreement meant more protection and cooperation, enforcing the duty of transparency and the idea of financial compensation.

The collective agreement is to be evaluated every six months and, according to Verdi, would become the basis for regulations on the use of generative AI in other areas of the film industry. 

(dpa/NAN)