Hollywood was subject to one of its longest screenwriters’ strikes in history in 2023, for 148 days. Central to the strike was the issue of the increasing screenwriting by generative artificial intelligence. Writers Guild of America (WGA) members believed that the production companies would use AI programs to generate or to rewrite scripts without fair remuneration to human screenwriters (AP News, 2023).
That agreement reached between the WGA and the studios had specific restrictions toward the use of AI. The studios cannot use AI to write or to adapt written scripts without notice to and compensation to concerned writers (The Guardian, 2023). Also, AI products that are provided to writers need to be disclosed, and no such work is to be considered as “source material” that reduces human creators credits and compensation (AP News, 2023).
This decision has enormous implications outside of Hollywood. It establishes precedent for how creative industries everywhere can approach the use of generative AI. The World Economic Forum (2023) calculates that as many as 26% of jobs in arts, design, and media can be automatized in the coming years, with potential implications for the viability of creative careers. More recently, the British Film Institute cautioned that AI businesses are practicing their machines on some 130,000 scripts without licenses, with implications for copyright, job security, and access to starter jobs for emerging professionals (The Guardian, 2025).
As I see it, this case shows that innovation in technology is not necessarily bad, but it does require strict ethical principles and regulatory mechanisms. I also think that AI can never completely replace humans, and that human creativity will always remain important in the artistic world. Without strict limitations, there is indeed a danger that creative work will be undervalued, not solely financially, but culturally. The WGA strike thus comes as much warning sign as roadmap: AI can be an instrument, only if its deployment is subject to principles of equity and respect for human authorship.
References
AP News. (2023, September 27). In Hollywood writers’ battle against AI, humans win (for now). AP News. https://apnews.com/article/hollywood-ai-strike-wga-artificial-intelligence-39ab72582c3a15f77510c9c30a45ffc8
The Guardian. (2023, October 1). How Hollywood writers triumphed over AI – and why it matters. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/oct/01/hollywood-writers-strike-artificial-intelligence
The Guardian. (2025, June 9). AI ‘plundering’ scripts poses direct threat to UK screen sector, says BFI. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/09/ai-plundering-scripts-poses-direct-threat-to-uk-screen-sector-says-bfi
World Economic Forum. (2023, May 9). How might generative AI change creative jobs?. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/05/generative-ai-creative-jobs
