Zachary Berger

@zacharyberger

Lead Creature Designer - Avatar The Way Of Water, Avatar Fire and Ash Past: Disney, Marvel, Netflix, Fox, Universal, WB, Legendary, Sony Santa Monica, etc.

598 Folgt5.648 Follower435 Posts

Linktree Bluesky

art

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir zacharyberger.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jul 10

Did a little chat with team Avatar about the creature design process of "Avatar: Fire and Ash", in anticipation of the upcoming art book release! You can watch the entire conversation here: youtu.be/JRKi9mbBil8?... #avatarsky

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 12

“AI is less regulated than a sandwich shop” - MIT professor Want to help with that? There’s a bill in California that would require transparency in the AI datasets, but it needs your help to pass. Please add your name to the support petition here, it’ll take you 2 minutes: tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 1/

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 11

There is a bill in California that would allow creators to look under the hood of AI training datasets to see if their work was being used, but it needs your support - please sign this petition, it’ll take you 2 minutes: tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 (video credit hitrecordjoe on IG) 1/

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 10

The only way for this AI "competitor" to function is by taking a bunch of work off the internet without consent. A bill in California would force transparency in their dataset. Want to help it pass? Please sign this petition in support, it'll take you 2 minutes: tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 1/

Meme containing an image of a man holding up his hands, caption is a quote: “AI is not just a tool in the toolbox, it’s a competitor. People sometimes say, ‘well AI is just a pencil.’ I don’t know any pencils that stand up and write by themselves.” Quote is attributed to Edward Saatchi, CEO of Showrunner AI, called the "Netflix of AI".

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 3

Black Forest Labs (like Stability AI) likely took a bunch of work off the internet in order to train their AI. A bill in California would force transparency in their dataset. Want to help it pass? Please sign this petition in support, it'll take you 2 minutes: tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 1/

Black and white image of Martin Scorsese raising his hands with a caption in big bold letters that says "ABSOLUTE SLOP".

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 1

Open AI doesn't want to be transparent about what's in their AI training datasets - this bill would force them. If that sounds good, we REALLY NEED YOUR HELP! Please sign this petition in support of the bill, it'll take you 2 minutes: tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 1/

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· May 29

Thank you @mexopolis.bsky.social for hearing your fans and your community!! ❤️‍🩹 If you'd like to take some action, a bill in Cali would force AI corps like Amazon to be transparent about what is in the training datasets, but it needs YOUR help! Please sign this petition: tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 1/

Screenshot of a post by Jorge R. Gutierrez @mexopolis on X.com

"I have decided to drop out of the AI program at Amazon. I will not be making a Punky Duck series. Actions speak louder than words.

My intent was to showcase artists, both new and seasoned, both inside and outside the studios, driving this new tech.

My sincerest apology to those I upset. I promise to do better moving forward. Thank you for your patience with me. I will try harder."

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· May 28

"Faster, more efficient" = cutting artists and animators "3rd party video models w/ a proprietary model portfolio" = we won't tell you what data we trained off of (likely stolen) A bill in Cali would force AI transparency, but it needs YOUR help! Please sign this petition tinyurl.com/4uxbp963 1/

Title: "Prime Video Orders Trio of Animated Series from New GenAI Creators' Fund"

Text: "makes every subsequent production faster and more efficient;"

Image description: screenshots of three AI generated animated projects

Text: "third-party video models with a proprietary model portfolio"

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· May 14

If you need some inspiration, here were my answers. Just please don’t use them verbatim. Even better, write your own. Biggest takeaway, under what the government should do: require consent, credit, compensation, and transparency in the AI training datasets.

Question: How has Al impacted your job and workplace, if at all? (optional)

Answer: I am an illustrator / concept artist working in the entertainment industry at the top of my field. I have gained this expertise from 20 years of experience. Al image and video generators have begun to absolutely decimate my field. Why would an employer pay me a living wage to produce an illustration if they can pay an intern to generate hundreds of illustrations using an Al system for a low monthly subscription fee?

In the creative workplace, those excited to introduce Al are the managerial class, who see it as a way to "cut costs" i.e. labor. The workers are all terrified of their jobs being automated-some are begrudgingly adopting it out of fear of being replaced or from pressure from their employers. Entry level positions are completely disappearing.

My work, and the work of all of my peers, was
used to train these Al systems, which are now competing with us directly in the marketplace, and sold back to us for the profit of a few giant tech companies.

Question: How do you expect Al to impact the economy?

Answer: Al is currently being used to extract expertise and wealth from the white collar middle class to the ownership class. *All* current commercial Al models were trained using data scraped from the internet without consent, credit, compensation, or transparency - data that the Al developers do not own, and have made minimal efforts to pay for.

Left unchecked, the tech industry will do to California's creative industry what it did to taxi drivers with ridesharing apps like Uber and the hotel industry with vacation rentals like Airbnb - it will infiltrate the industry, offer a more convenient product at a much cheaper rate by subsidizing/taking a loss on the
"real" cost and skirting regulation by moving faster than the law. This will result in a destruction of the middle class jobs of that industry, turning everyone lett into low-wage gig workers barely able to scrape by, let alone make a decent living.

Question: What do you think the government should do about these impacts?

Answer: Require Al developers to provide consent, credit, and compensation for the data that they used to develop their Al systems. Require transparency in the datasets so that I and other creators can know if our work was used in the training.

Do not buy into the line that the datasets are the tech industry's "trade secrets"-my work (which was definitely used) should not be anyone's trade secret. Uphold copyright-just because these works are being used in a novel way does not mean that copyright does not apply.
Those of us in the creative industry who are Al skeptical are not asking the government to completely halt Al development, we are asking for the value of our work that was used in Al development to be respected.

Do not only allow giant companies / IP owners such as movie studios or music labels to make license deals with Al developers - please allow smaller / independent creators who may not be able to afford expensive lawyers to receive compensation if their work was used.

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· May 14

California-based artists and creatives, the California government is asking for public input on AI's impact on our work. Please fill out this survey, it'll just take a few minutes: join.engaged.ca.gov/en/projects/...

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Mar 24

Is it too late to sell my course on how to write the best Sora prompts?

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Mar 11

Had a wonderful time chatting with Aaron Dhanda over on the Learn Squared podcast! We talked creatures, James Cameron, anxiety, and imposter syndrome, among many things! This is probably the most candid and real I’ve ever gotten on a podcast, so please take a listen when you have a chance! 1/2

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Dec 9

JoGoLev explains the importance of AI transparency and the California AB-412 bill. If you want to help support transparency in AI datasets, sign this petition - it'll take 1 minute! tinyurl.com/4uxbp963

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Dec 9

The hearing on AI dataset transparency on 12/8 was a resounding success! Artists, animators, voice actors, actors, writers, musicians, and other creatives showed up en masse in solidarity with one another and to support more transparency in the AI datasets! There was standing room only! 1/2

San Francisco Chronicle

By Aidin Vaziri, Staff Writer
Dec 8, 2025

"Actors and artists pack Stanford hearing to demand new AI transparency law"

Actor Sean Astin at the Fan Expo at Moscone Center in a file photo from Nov. 26, 2023. SAG-AFTRA President Astin told lawmakers in Stanford, "I've been a professional actor for 44 years, and it is simply not OK for companies to use the results of my work without me knowing." Manuel Orbegozo / Special to The Chronicle

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Dec 4

If this bill passes, we’ll be able to tell exactly IF and WHAT copyrighted material this being used. So please come to the hearing and show support for the bill! RSVP / info - bit.ly/44lRMsX

12/8 HEARING
The Al Copyright Transparency Act
URGENT! BE THERE !!
SHOW UP to support Artists & Creators NOW !!!
12/8/2025 - 10:00 AM
Stanford University - Paul Brest Hall
555 Salvatierra Walk
Stanford, CA 93405
Entrance faces Nathan Abbott Way
Parking: Parking Structure 6 (Cash/ Credit)
We want the sea of human creativity that is CA to be in the room!
Help us get a head count ...
RSVP:
https://bit.ly/44IRMsX

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Nov 19

Like some kind of zombie cockroach, THE BAN ON STATE AI REGULATIONS IS BACK FROM THE DEAD!! 🪦 Please call your senators and rep NOW and tell them no state AI regulation ban!! A cheat sheet of who to call, scripts of what to say here: tinyurl.com/msa69nkv

THE VERGE: Republicans are looking for a way to bring back the AI moratorium. A year-end defense bill might include another shot at overriding state AI laws.

House Majority leader Steve Salise (R-LA) told Punchbowl News he's considering adding language to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) effectively banning state AI regulations. Later on Tuesday, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social urging Congress to standardize AI regulations.

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Oct 2

Reminder: they're STILL taking all of our work + we STILL need (especially Cali) signatures on the petition supporting Bill AB412 - the AI Copyright Transparency Act. TLDR= this'll require transparency about what's in AI datasets! Signing takes 1 min. Once done, PLEASE SHARE!! tinyurl.com/4uxbp963

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Sep 25

AND WE GOT AN EPIC NEW POSTER by the one and only Dylan Cole!! This one is going on my wall!! I don't think Dylan is on bluesky, but please go follow him over on IG (@dylancoleart) if you don't already!

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Aug 8

Hey #avatarsky! I will be participating as a guest judge for your Avatar-themed art for this year's Avatar Day fan event on August 21! A bit nervous, because I know how many incredible artists there are out there in the community! Hit the link to find out more! avatar-day-event.webflow.io

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jul 27

Hey #avatarsky - let’s have some fun: please reply to this post with shares / screenshots of your favorite (positive) #AvatarFireAndAsh trailer takes - I wanna see ‘em! (I’m not on X any more, so I feel like I may be missing out on some fun ones…)

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jul 21

Calling all #avatarsky and #Avatar fans! The first trailer for #AvatarFireAndAsh has been *officially* confirmed to be in front of #Fantastic4 this weekend! Hope you can make it, you’re in for a fun ride! 🔥

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 30

KEEP CALLING YOUR SENATORS ABOUT THE AI REGULATION BAN especially if you live in Florida, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Alaska, or Maine! IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER!! Instructions on how to call and script ideas of what to say in the below thread.

CBS NEWS

Senate begins marathon vote series on Trump's "big, beautiful bill" as GOP eyes July 4 deadline

Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, warned Sunday that the legislation would be a "political albatross" for Republicans, while suggesting that the bill could even lose support among the GOP, saying "it's not over until it's over."

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 27

KEEP CALLING YOUR SENATORS ABOUT THE AI REGULATION BAN especially if you live in Florida, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Alaska, or Maine! IT’S WORKING!! Instructions on how to call and script ideas of what to say in the below thread.

Republican doubts: The Al moratorium has divided Republicans. A group of GOP senators, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri and others, sent a letter to Thune on Wednesday urging the removal of the moratorium language, according to a person familiar with the matter.

"States should not be punished for trying to protect their citizens from the harms of AI,"
Blackburn said in a post on X on Thursday.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said he is concerned about the scope of the provision…

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 27

Don't let Mr. Cruz tell your state how it should govern. Please call your senators - especially if you live in Florida, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Alaska, or Maine. Instructions on how to call and script ideas of what to say in the below thread.

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 27

The house version had just a *literal 10 year ban on any and all AI regulation*, then - to pass the parliamentarian - it was altered by Cruz in the senate to be “your state must comply with the 10 year ban or it doesn’t get a whole bunch of money for broadband”. Current language attached:

Section _00012. Support for artificial intelligence under the broadband equity, access, and deployment program.
This section would provide $500 million to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information for Fiscal Year 2025 to carry out the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
This section would allow BEAD funding to be used to construct and deploy infrastructure for the provision of artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems.
Lastly, this section would require that no funds made available to carry out this section may be obligated to an eligible entity (re: a State) or a political subdivision of such entity that receives funds under this section unless such entity temporarily pauses the enforcement of any law or regulation of that entity or political subdivision that limits, restricts, or otherwise regulates artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems entered into interstate commerce over the next 10 years. Such pause would not apply to a law or regulation that:
• Has a primary purpose and effect of removing legal impediments to or facilitate the deployment of such models or systems,
• Has a primary purpose and effect of streamlining licensing, permitting, routing, zoning, procurement, or reporting procedures in a manner that facilitates the adoption of such models or systems,
• Does not impose any substantive design, performance, data-handling, documentation, civil liability, taxation, fee, or other requirement on such models or systems unless such requirement is imposed by Federal law or imposed under a generally applicable law,
• Does not impose a fee or bond unless (1) such fee or bond is reasonable and cost-based; and (2) under such fee or bond such models or systems are treated in the same manner as other models and systems that perform comparable functions.

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 27

I probably should have used the "states' rights" talking point in my initial script, especially for red state senators. Here is an updated script with that implemented. Use it if its helpful, or say it in your own words: 4/

“The AI regulation ban in the budget reconciliation bill destroys federalism and takes away states’ rights. Let each state decide how they want to handle this issue, we do not need the federal government telling the states how to govern. Studies show that AI may eliminate many middle class jobs in the next few years. Removing the ability to regulate AI at a state level would reduce lawmakers' ability to put reasonable rules in place to help prevent this. If we eliminate all AI regulation, we would destroy protections for things like deepfakes, non-consensual AI generated sexual material, AI insurance denials, AI-driven employment discrimination and more. Please make sure the section in the budget reconciliation bill banning Al regulation is removed.”

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 26

Use this link, put in your info, you will get a call that connects you with each of your senators: act.aflcio.org/call_campaig... Once you are connected, try to talk to a staffer. Feel free to use this script, if you like, or say it in your own words. Please do it NOW. It'll take you 5 minutes. 2/

“Studies show that AI may eliminate many middle class jobs in the next few years. Removing the ability to regulate AI at a state level would reduce lawmakers ability to put reasonable rules in place to help prevent this. If we eliminate all AI regulation, we would destroy protections for things like deepfakes, non-consensual AI generated sexual material, AI insurance denials, AI-driven employment discrimination and more. Please make sure the section in the budget reconciliation bill banning Al regulation is removed.”

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· Jun 26

The US ban on state AI regulation may be voted on in the senate very soon. If you live in one of these states - FL, MO, TX, TN, WI, AK, ME - please call your senators & ask them to remove the "state AI regulation ban" in the budget reconciliation bill NOW! Link to call & what to say in next post 1/

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· May 29

Tech CEOs saying the loud part out loud. Seems like maybe we shouldn’t take away the ability to regulate AI? Call your senators and ask them to remove the AI regulation ban in the budget reconciliation bill! Don’t know who to call or what to say? Use my cheat sheet: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Zachary Berger@zacharyberger· May 22

CALL YOUR SENATORS!! The AI regulation ban in the budget reconciliation bill made it out of the house, but this is far from over! Even some red state senators are showing signs of opposition! Don't know what to say or who to call? Use my cheat sheet: docs.google.com/document/d/1...