Hollywood stars send open letter to Trump asking for protection against AI

Hundreds of stars from Hollywood sent an open letter to President Donald Trump, 78, asking for protection from cinema, TV and music against advances in artificial intelligence.

What happened

The document was delivered last week to the White House Scientific and Technological Policy Department. Its text draws attention to the importance of the US entertainment industry, as a generator of more than 2.3 million jobs, and understands the exploitation of “US creative and knowledge industries” as a threat to the “most vibrant economy in the world” that offers “a basis for democratic influence of the United States and” soft power “abroad.”

The document has the adhesion of 400 artists and directors, such as Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo and Paul McCartney. Also signatory to actors Guillermo Del Toro, Cynthia Erivo, Cate Blanchett, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Simon, Aubrey Plaza, Ayo Edebiri, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sam Mendes, Janelle Monae, Maggie Gylenhall and Michala Coel are also