One of the most important threats to pay attention to in the Hollywood writers and actors strike is the inclusion of artificial intelligence (AI) in TV and film.
The rapid advancement of technology has artists and creatives of all categories and levels not only fighting for better wages, but for their very jobs as streaming services become the main viewing source for entertainment.
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“Both unions are striking for reasonable terms on compensation and residuals, as well as regulations on the use of artificial intelligence, among other issues facing their respective unions,” CBR.com writes.
At the brink of Disney CEO Bob Iger calling these protests “deeply disturbing,” his “Imagineering” team has posted job openings within the “generative AI” field.
One role – an R&D Imagineer – will “collaborate with third-party studios, universities, organizations, and developers to evaluate, adopt, and integrate the latest generative AI.” The job promises a base salary of up to $180,000 per year, with possible bonuses and other compensation as well.
Netflix is offering up to $900,000 for a single AI product manager!
“So $900k/yr per soldier in their godless AI army when that amount of earnings could qualify thirty-five actors and their families for SAG-AFTRA health insurance is just ghoulish,” actor Rob Delaney, who had a lead role in the “Black Mirror” episode, told The Intercept. “Having been poor and rich in this business, I can assure you there’s enough money to go around; it’s just about priorities.”
An example of the generative AI that Hollywood executives are aiming to learn more about is revealed in this TikTok video of actress Jenna Ortega in an AI-generated form. The account has almost one million followers, with dozens of videos garnering millions of views.
For some actors, this is not a struggle against the sci-fi dystopia of AI itself, but just a bid for fair working conditions in their industry and control over their own likenesses, bodies, movements, and speech patterns.
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