A little over a year ago, controversy arose over a provision of Findaway Voices' distribution agreement that granted Apple a license to use rights holders' audiobook files for “machine learning”, aka AI training. (Findaway Voices, if you're not familiar with it, is an audiobook creation service that's a popular alternative to Audible's ACX.)

Part of the agreement for years, this provision had not previously been flagged as problematic, as far as I know. But in February 2023, the environment was different, thanks to the rapid and recent general release of new generative AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E, and the creative community's growing concern about generative AI's implications for copyrights and livelihoods.

Re-discovered, the machine learning provision created a social media uproar. Rights holders rushed to contact Findaway and opt out of the provision. Responding to complaints from members, SAG-AFTRA met with Findaway and Apple to share concerns; in a statement after the meeting, SAG-AFTRA staff reported a "positive" interaction and a pledge by Findaway and Apple to immediately "halt any/all use of files for machine learning purposes."