Hollywood Ending For AI?

As part of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, screenwriters are now asking for limits on AI usage in addition to higher compensation and improved job security. 

The WGA requested that AI usage be limited so it "can't write or rewrite literary material, can't be used as source material" and that writers' work "can't be used to train AI." The concerns appear focused on fear of job losses and creative control. 

CREATIVE FRONT: For many, art and language were the last bastions of humanity separating us from the machines. However, recent advancements in generative AI slowly erased that line and showed that the new frontier might be human-machine symbiosis fueled by prompt creativity. Data is the fuel for AI outputs, and as John August, a notable screenwriter, said, "We don't want our material feeding [AI systems], and we also don't want to be fixing their sloppy first drafts." 

While an AI won't be showing up on the list of credits any time soon (WGA contract defines a writer as a "person"), the idea of AI-assisted writing isn't a farfetched Hollywood story. For example, in March, South Park's writers used generative AI to co-write the episode "Deep Learning," which focused on ChatGPT.

JOB FRONT: Accenture predicts that large language models could affect up to 40% of working hours. They estimate knowledge workers spend 62% of their time on language tasks, so we can assume screenwriters' time would be impacted even more than 'the rest of us.' 

Interestingly, instead of job loss, Accenture sees a future where human expertise is combined with AI-powered machines to transform tasks into more productive activities. The success of this shift requires attention not only on upskilling and training employees but also on AI technology, including developing talent in areas like AI engineering and training the whole workforce to use AI effectively.

While the final ending of the negotiations for the WGA is still unfolding, we're in the first chapters of AI impacting businesses and popular culture. Mark Cuban recently compared the introduction of ChatGPT to HTML and the 'early days' of the internet. If his analysis is correct, the screen-writers guild may win the battle to limit AI usage while everyone with access to generative AI tools becomes a writer, director, and producer of their own personalized AI content.