Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or any other generative AI bot to create a story; the output will always amaze you. You will get a compelling storyline with the most detailed descriptions of scenes and characters. When you’re doing this for fun, this might sound like a dream. But for professionals in the creative industries, this seems more like a nightmare.
Strike upon strike
The tension between generative AI and creative professionals hit the world when actors and writers announced major strikes in Hollywood. One of the prominent reasons was that generative AI might replace their careers in the upcoming (near) future. According to the BBC[1], creative professionals advocated for better pay, working conditions, and job security in the age of generative AI. The strikes performed by over 160.000 creative professionals caused delays for many movie projects and caused major monetary damage. Framestore, the company behind the special effects in Marvel movies, saw a decrease of 46.7 million[2] US dollars in its revenue.
Discussion
In my opinion, the strength of generative AI and the strength of creative professionals need to be combined into a collaborative relationship. At this point, AI will inevitably replace some job roles, whether it’s in the creative industry or not. Thus, it is important to work together and to combine the strengths of both sides. For actors, I believe that the reassurance against the use of AI is justified. Their faces or voices should not be used without their consent for movies created with AI. A more controversial opinion from my side might be that writers need to adapt to the current circumstances. It is not completely new that jobs are replaced by new technologies. Think of factory workers in car assembly lines being replaced by robots. As emphasized earlier, a collaborative relationship is needed to both foster the talents of writers and the strength of generative AI. New job types and roles could come into existence which would optimise the output of creative companies when humans and computers collaborate.
What do you think? What is your opinion on the use of generative AI in the creative industries? Should it be halted or should it be enabled?
[1] SAG strike live updates: Actors join writers as Hollywood shuts down – BBC News
[2] Marvel VFX Giant Reveals Damage Done By Hollywood Strikes (forbes.com)
