Hollywood strikes inflamed by claim AI could do writers' jobs

tech.hindustantimes.com:

The Hollywood writers' strike broke out this week over pay, but the refusal of studios like Netflix and Disney to rule out artificial intelligence replacing human scribes in the future has only fueled anger and fear on the picket lines.

With their rapidly advancing ability to eerily mimic human conversation, AI programs like ChatGPT have spooked many industries recently. The White House this week summoned Big Tech to discuss the potential risks.

As part of the weeks-long talks with studios and streamers that collapsed Monday, the Writers Guild of America asked for binding agreements to regulate the use of AI.

Under the proposals, nothing written by AI can be considered "literary" or "source" material -- industry terms that decide who gets royalties -- and scripts written by WGA members cannot "be used to train AI."

But according to the WGA, studios "rejected our proposal," and countered with an offer merely to meet once a year to "discuss advancements in technology."

"It's nice for them to offer to have a meeting about how they're exploiting it against us!" joked WGA negotiating committee member Eric Heisserer, who wrote Netflix hit film "Bird Box."

"Art cannot be created by a machine. You lose the heart and soul of the story... I mean, the first word is 'artificial,'" he told AFP on the picket line outside the streaming giant's Hollywood HQ Friday.

While writers already know this, the danger is that "we have to watch tech companies destroy the business in an attempt to find out for themselves," he said.

- 'Not just scripts' -

While few television and film writers who spoke to AFP on the picket lines believe their work could be done by computers, the apparent conviction of studios and streamers that it can has been an extra slap