Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, & More Stars Back Anti-AI Campaign: ‘Stealing Our Work Is Not Innovation’

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John Shearer/WireImage via Getty, Isabella Bonotto/Anadolu via Getty

Actors Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are reportedly among 700 supporters of a new anti-AI campaign. “Stealing our work is not innovation,” the initiative asserts. “It’s theft.”

“America’s creative community is the envy of the world and creates jobs, economic growth, and exports,” the anti-artificial intelligence effort, titled, “Stealing Isn’t Innovation,” reads.

“But rather than respect and protect this valuable asset, some of the biggest tech companies, many backed by private equity and other funders, are using American creators’ work to build AI platforms without authorization or regard for copyright law,” the message continues.

The recently-launched initiative goes on to assert, “Artists, writers, and creators of all kinds are banding together with a simple message: Stealing our work is not innovation. It’s not progress. It’s theft — plain and simple.”

The Human Artistry Campaign — a coalition made up of creators, unions, and industry groups advocating for their rights in the era of artificial intelligence — is the entity behind the anti-generative AI push, insisting that “a better way exists.”

“Through licensing deals and partnerships, some AI companies have taken the responsible, ethical route to obtaining the content and materials they wish to use,” the organization states.

“It is possible to have it all,” the message insists. “We can have advanced, rapidly developing AI and ensure creators’ rights are respected.”

Below the statement us a lengthy list of “creator signees,” all of whom co-signed the declaration.

Among the nearly 800 signees also include singers Cyndi Lauper, LeAnn Rimes, and Martina McBride, screenwriter Vince Gilligan, the bands One Republic, MGMT, and R.E.M., country singer Lee Greenwood, and rapper Common.

Johansson’s involvement in the anti-AI campaign comes as no surprise, as the Avengers star has been a vocal critic of artificial intelligence for the past few years.

As Breitbart News reported, the Oscar-nominated actress took legal action against an AI app in 2023 after the technology cloned her likeness for an advertisement without permission.

Gordon-Levitt, meanwhile, teamed up with various Hollywood celebrities last year to launch the “Creative Coalition on AI” to fight against business practices he said are unethical and seek to use artificial intelligence as a means to disenfranchise creators.

Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

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