Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1543070
The sound community has never shied away from innovation. Most of us know the feeling of grabbing a new plugin the moment it drops, grateful for how far machine learning has already carried noise reduction, transcription, and restoration tools. But as artificial intelligence (AI) moves from the margins into everyday production, an uncomfortable question surfaces: What does it mean to work creatively in a world where machines can imitate creation? That question was at the heart of The Sounding Board v5.0 panel "Surviving AI," hosted by David Barber CAS MPSE, (President, MPSE) with panelists Jillian Arnold (President, Local 695), Asher J. Pink (MPEG Emerging Technology Committee), and Rachel Stilwell (Stilwell Law). The discussion was not designed to forecast the future or stir alarm. It was meant to give sound professionals a clearer view of what is already happening, and how to navigate it with confidence rather than confusion. One thing was clear, technology is moving faster than industry norms, contracts, and even language can keep up. Artificial intelligence tools are no longer theoretical; they're already being used for transcription, editing, synthesis, and voice modeling. In some cases, they're saving time. In others, they're raising questions no one fully anticipated a decade ago. How do we protect creative labor in a world that increasingly wants to automate it? The consensus was immediate and clear: AI is not coming, it's already here. What remains undecided is who controls it? As Barber made clear, the threat is not "AI tools." The threat is when tools become substitutions for people. Barber cited the Motion Picture Editors Guild's move to disallow generative AI from award eligibility, not as a protest, but as a philosophical line: Recognition should go only to work authored by humans. Innovation should expand creativity, not erase it. Our contracts are our first line of defense. AI language is now embedded in international agreements, requiring consultation, disclosure, and documentation whenever artificial intelligence enters the creative, technical, or administrative pipeline. As Jillian Arnold pointed out, protections are already in the contracts, but they only work if members assert them. Members must request AI disclosure when they receive start paperwork. Members must demand consultation before AI is deployed. Members must report violations, even when uncertain. Silence equals consent. Requests to "just accept the tool" are no longer an informal pressure tactic, they are labor issues. The panel urged members to contact Business Agents immediately if scanning, likeness use, or synthetic voice creation is proposed. Facial and vocal capture without consent is not just unethical, it may be contractually illegal. The discussion also made clear that copyright remains unsettled Surviving AI! b y C A S A s s o c i a t e S a m C a s a s