The combined strike by writer and actor union members for better contracts is the first since 1960. It means stars can’t promote their films, and writing and filming are on hold for future major projects.
There are pay issues: although studio and network bosses, streaming company chief executives and top stars are richly rewarded, there are many in the industry who aren’t. With streaming, actors aren’t getting the same revenue they used to and they want 2 per cent.
Film and TV writers are concerned that use of AI will put them out of work, and background actors don’t like the idea of being digitally scanned and their likenesses being owned for future use without adequate compensation and consent. The writers demand that “AI can’t write or rewrite literary material; can’t be used as source material”.
Use of performances or material for AI is being referred to as “ingesting”. Authors are testing copyright laws alleging their books were used to “train” ChatGPT.
Unless there are firm regulations, it’s very likely artists’ work will be copied, remixed and exploited by others, meaning loss of artistic control and loss of a performer’s way to earn a living.
It’s an artificial version of a very human, benign, process that occurs regularly in art where an idea, song, film or book lights new inspiration in someone else to create something related but different.
With AI the bot tools are in service to the aim of commercial efficiency and profit.
With art, a relentless focus on the bottom line over quality puts the big picture at risk. The music industry has struggled since low payments from streaming reduced revenue for artists, making it harder to break out into the big time.
At present people have choices such as to watch something cliched and stupid, or classy and stirring. But what if in the future the vast majority of fare was fake rubbish?
Admittedly, many existing projects aren’t good examples of scripts and acting. Even then, to fail and underwhelm is human.
Good-to-excellent films and programmes are marked by a creativity that’s also human. A special line that surprises you, great acting without a word, chemistry between actors in a scene, an original take on an old theme.
Real screen or musical magic is a joy. Great TV series that people can discuss with others are part of the enjoyment of life. It would be awful if canned takes on life were mostly what we were offered.
The wider issue with AI is it will go far beyond the art and entertainment world.
There are other industries where it will have positive benefits — doing time-consuming tasks and allowing staff to concentrate on other things.
The OECD in its employment outlook predicts that highly skilled jobs such as in the legal, medical, culture, and financial fields will be at highest risk. It says the technology is so far changing jobs rather than replacing them. “Urgent action is required to make sure AI is used responsibly and in a trustworthy way in the workplace.”
The entertainment standoff is an initial line in the sand of how to maintain the human element as the dominant factor as AI technology changes an industry.
Speaking at an Oppenheimer discussion panel, Nolan, the film’s director, said of algorithms and AI, “when you innovate with technology, you have to maintain accountability”.
He added: “When I talk to the leading researchers in the field of AI right now, for example, they literally refer to this — right now — as their Oppenheimer moment. They’re looking to history to say, ‘What are the responsibilities for scientists developing new technologies that may have unintended consequences?’”
With so many unknowns about AI, the script could lead anywhere.
