San Francisco

blue

Axios San Francisco Partners

San Francisco Alerts

Alert

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting San Francisco.

Axios San Francisco Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

Get smarter, faster on what matters in San Francisco with Nadia Lopez and Shawna Chen.

Axios San Francisco

Standard

San Francisco Members

Membership

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

charlotte

detroit

columbus

austin

kansas-city

dallas

atlanta

washington-dc

nw-arkansas

boulder

chicago

indianapolis

nashville

richmond

houston

san-francisco

seattle

colorado-springs

boston

des-moines

salt-lake-city

philadelphia

denver

phoenix

new-orleans

miami

twin-cities

huntsville

raleigh

san-antonio

portland

san-diego

tampa-bay

cleveland

pittsburgh

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Axios AI+

The rise of artificial intelligence has become a legitimate concern in workplaces.

Driving the news: In its contract negotiations, the Writers Guild of America aims to limit the use of AI-generated dialogue or scenes.

On Tuesday, WGA announced a strike after negotiations broke down. 

Why it matters: It's one of the first instances in which AI has become a point of contention in labor negotiations as industries grapple with a technology that could replace workers in the future.

Between the lines: In San Francisco, there's an ongoing dialogue around how artificial intelligence can impact our society.

In March, the Misalignment Museum opened in the Mission with the aim of increasing awareness and knowledge about the potential risks of AI, Audrey Kim, the museum's creator, previously told Axios San Francisco.

Last month, a pop-up "baigel" shop powered by a fictitious robot named ChefGPT (no affiliation with the tech startup of the same name) aimed to encourage "conversation around where are humans going to find their purpose if some of their work is actually automated away," its human collaborator Jackson Perry told Axios SF.

Of note: There's a wide array of ways that AI is likely to disrupt Hollywood.

AI could allow popular actors to "speak" any number of foreign languages, for example. That might be more appealing to global audiences but also threatens the livelihoods of the actors who have made careers out of dubbing, say, American-made movies into German.

Similar technology is threatening to upend the audiobook industry as well, with AI narrators quickly improving and sometimes being trained on the human book readers they stand to replace.

There's also the concern that the same technology that allows deepfakes could be used to erode actors' control over their own likeness, giving studios the ability to generate new performances from an actor, living or dead, potentially without full consent or compensation.

And the concerns don't end there. Generative AI threatens to upend the special effects industry, which has been dominated by the likes of Industrial Light & Magic. Even individual costumers could be at risk, as AI might be used to place digital outfits on actors — an option that could give studios both cost savings and added flexibility.

AI stars in Hollywood labor negotiations

In its contract negotiations, the Writer's Guild of America aims to limit the use of AI-generated dialogue or scenes.

Artificial intelligence

The rise of artificial intelligence has become a legitimate concern in workplaces.Driving the news: In its contract negotiations, the Writers Guild of America aims to limit the use of AI-generated dialogue or scenes.

News

Latest news on Wall Street, Corporate America and financial regulation.

Business

San Francisco-based OpenAI is facing more turmoil as CTO Mira Murati is leaving the company after more than six years "to create the time and space to do my own exploration," she announced on X this week.

Why it matters: Mayor London Breed last year declared SF the "AI capital of the world," but there's been trouble in AI paradise since that proclamation.

State of play: When OpenAI briefly ousted CEO Sam Altman last year, the board named Murati as interim CEO.

Following Murati's decision to step away from the company, Altman on Wednesday announced the departure of two other executives — Bob McGrew, chief research officer, and Barret Zoph, VP of research — and made several new appointments.

What they're saying: "Mira, Bob, and Barret made these decisions independently of each other and amicably," Altman's post said.

Altman thanked Murati saying, "We'll say more about the transition plans soon, but for now, I want to take a moment to just feel thanks."

OpenAI and a representative for Murati declined to comment beyond their public posts.

What we're watching: Earlier this week, OpenAI finalized plans to open a 315,000-square-foot workspace in Mission Bay, marking the largest office lease of the year in the city, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

In a tweet earlier this week, Breed thanked OpenAI and Altman "for expanding and continuing to call S.F. home."

Parisa Safarzadeh, a spokesperson for the mayor's office, echoed that sentiment, telling Axios via email that OpenAI's latest lease signals "the seriousness of [its] commitment to our city and the AI industry."

"The rate at which AI is booming in this city continues to accelerate," she said. "We are forging ahead to strengthen San Francisco's position as the center of this technology that is changing the world."

OpenAI is facing an executive exodus

San Francisco officials have looked to AI as a bit of a savior for the city's post-pandemic recovery.

Mira Murati Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

OpenAI

San Francisco-based OpenAI is facing more turmoil as CTO Mira Murati is leaving the company after more than six years &quot;to create the time and space to do my own exploration,&quot; she <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="announced on X" data-vars-click-url="https://x.com/miramurati/status/1839025700009030027?s=46" data-vars-content-id="abc2e8c9-d68e-4ee7-b553-40a87a0266a6" data-vars-headline="OpenAI is facing an executive exodus" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://x.com/miramurati/status/1839025700009030027?s=46" target="_blank">announced on X</a> this week.Why it matters: Mayor London Breed <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="last year" data-vars-click-url="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/mayor-breed-ai-capital-18166445.php" data-vars-content-id="abc2e8c9-d68e-4ee7-b553-40a87a0266a6" data-vars-headline="OpenAI is facing an executive exodus" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/mayor-breed-ai-capital-18166445.php" target="_blank">last year</a> declared SF the &quot;AI capital of the world,&quot; but there&#x27;s been trouble in AI paradise since that proclamation.

Ina Fried

Featured stories

Apple nabs Google exec to lead AI marketing

Olympics bans transgender women from female category

OpenAI to discontinue Sora video app

Welcome to the AI agent arms race

Scoop: OpenAI bets on Altman-backed fusion startup