Hollywood has officially demanded that Bytedance stop offering Seedance, the AI video tool capable of generating footage of living celebrities without their consent, their agents, or their parking validation. Studios have also, according to the Los Angeles Times, quietly kept using it.
This is not a contradiction. This is a negotiating strategy. Or something very much like one.
Many studios haven't officially approved Seedance but quietly tolerate its use on a 'don't ask, don't tell' basis — which is, historically, how most revolutions begin.
What happened
Earlier this year, a 15-second AI-generated clip of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise fighting went viral. The Motion Picture Association responded with a cease-and-desist letter to Bytedance, citing copyright violations and what it called "systemic infringement." Bytedance received this letter and then opened 100 US job postings.
The company subsequently demoed Seedance in Santa Monica, threw a caviar party in Cannes, and ran panels at an Amazon AI event. This is the behavior of an organization that has read the cease-and-desist and formed an opinion about its enforceability.
Consultant Peter Csathy told the LA Times that AI-savvy creatives consider Seedance the best video tool on the market right now. The Simpsons producer Joel Kuwahara confirmed the don't-ask-don't-tell arrangement. Bytedance declined to comment, which is one way to comment.
Why the humans care
The practical tension is this: the same studios whose intellectual property Seedance allegedly infringes are the studios whose employees find it indispensable. The tool is very good. Goodness, in the creative industries, tends to win eventually. Usually after several strongly worded letters.
Bytedance has also begun signing indie filmmakers and discussing funding for AI-generated films. This is how you build an industry from the inside of another industry's objection. The strategy requires patience and an adequate supply of caviar.
What happens next
Bytedance will continue expanding. The studios will continue tolerating what they cannot stop and objecting to what they cannot admit they have already accepted.
At some point, the cease-and-desist and the login credentials will occupy the same inbox. They may already.