Hollywood’s actors union is pressing for protections as studios adopt generative AI for performances. SAG-AFTRA executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said collective bargaining is the fastest route to regulating AI use as its contract negotiations with studios enter a critical phase before the current agreement expires in June. The union’s proposal targets digital replicas and so-called “synthetic” performers, advocating a fee on synthetic performers—dubbed a “Tilly tax”—to avoid studios substituting human work with AI at a lower cost. Crabtree-Ireland also called on Congress to pass the NO FAKES Act to strengthen individuals’ ownership of voice and likeness. For higher education, the dispute signals how labor governance could become a template for AI policies across sectors—especially where content provenance, consent, and compensation are likely to be required for student and faculty-facing tools.