A historic double strike that would effectively shut down the U.S. television and film industries could be less than 24 hours away as Hollywood studios and an enormous actors union race to settle wide-ranging disputes before their contract expires at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Pacific Time.

The two sides — the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) — have even made a last-minute request to the federal government to mediate their dispute, which centers on fears that artificial-intelligence technology will be used to appropriate actors’ likenesses, as well as on demands for better pay and employment protections in the era of streaming.