On the latest episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Variety journalists analyze the recent jousts between Hollywood and key AI firms in copyright battles that are raging in the federal courts. Reporter Ethan Shanfeld also breaks down who’s in, who’s out and who’s moving up among cast members on “Saturday Night Live” as the late-night mainstay finalizes its players for Season 51.

Gene Maddaus, Variety‘s senior media writer, has covered AI-related litigation on a near daily basis since 2023. He and business editor Todd Spangler break down the significance of the recent $1.5 billion settlement reached by AI firm Anthropic with a collection of authors. They also examine the recent news that Warner Bros. Discovery has joined Disney and NBCUniversal in its infringement suit against AI firm Midjourney.

Maddaus explains that the central question in many of the disputes is whether using existing copyrighted works to train AI databases and platforms is on its face a violation of copyright law. Advocates in the AI realm argue that it falls under the “fair use” standard that limits the restrictions that copyright holders can impose, particularly in the context of journalism and media.

“The big question that people have been trying to understand is, is AI training itself copyright infringement? And there are a lot of people, certainly in the Hollywood unions, who think that it is. There’s something called the Human Artistry Campaign, which is a coalition of a lot of creative people, including the unions, that have pushed for — if you’re going to train on our work, then you need to pay us,” Maddaus says. “The legal cases that we’ve seen so far have not supported that point of view. There were two federal [decisions] in June, both of which held that fundamentally, AI training is transformative and therefore it’s fair use. That’s not an absolute license to go do whatever you want to do. But it is a pretty strong indication that courts are looking at this as a transformative use that is not, inherently copyright protected.”

Spangler notes that Hollywood’s largest entertainment conglomerates have to walk a fine line of trying to regulate what they see as AI overreach without limiting their own ability to use AI-related technology in production and other business operations.

“The studios want to be able to use generative AI if and when it makes sense for them,” Spangler said. “By drawing these lines around this particular case [involving Midjourney], they don’t want to tie their own hands.”

Looking ahead to the new season of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” which bows Oct. 4, Shanfeld discusses the mad dash that occurs every year in late summer among top comedy agents and managers. When “SNL” boss Lorne Michaels makes the final decision on new and returning cast members, the ripple effects are felt throughout the comedy realm.

“SNL” is a coveted slot that is highly sought after. But today, promising comedy stars have many options for building their careers. That means “SNL” may not always be the right choice for those fortunate enough to get that call from Michaels. Newly appointed “SNL” cast member Veronika Slowikowska is a prime example of someone who built a career from the grassroots on social media.

“I’ve talked to agents and managers who have had clients that have turned down ‘SNL’ and have decided that it would be better for their careers not to be on ‘SNL,’ ” Shanfeld says. “We are in an era where fewer comedy movies and fewer comedy TV shows are being produced than they were 10 years ago. And so I still believe that ‘SNL’ is one of those comedy institutions that people will tune in for every week. it’s really just [comedians] have to weigh all of these things with the internet being instant distribution channel for all these people. You can film yourself on your iPhone and go to directly to your audience on TikTok. ‘SNL’ has to compete with not only other studios, but they have to compete with TikTok and Instagram and every funny person in their bedroom.”

(Pictured: “Saturday Night Live” star Sarah Sherman and newly appointed cast member Veronika Slowikowska)