AI is slowly taking over Hollywood and nobody seems to care. Why not? AI has been affecting how movies work since 1927, being used for CGI but sometimes too much of a good thing is a dreadful thing. Nowadays AI is used as a common tool. Little by little writers start losing jobs, and can make actors younger or even replace them completely. The more producers see this the more likely they will keep using AI for easy money.
I believe that the heart and soul of any movie or show is the script and the scriptwriters. Without them you don’t get a movie, you get nothing. May 2, 2023, the start of the writers’ strike where over 3,900 jobs were lost in the United States alone. According to “5 Hollywood writers discuss AI’s impact on their careers”, one writer, Raphel Bob-Waksberg who created BoJack Horseman, stated that “We actually don’t need to convince the companies that this is a mistake. We just need to exert our power. Because right now we’re at a place where if we say, ‘It’s us or the machines,’ they’re going to pick us because they know the machines aren’t good enough to completely replace us right now.” That last part “right now” is so scary to think about. Sooner or later AI could permanently replace writers and, movies companies could just keep all the money to themselves.
As Companies see how AI can shape Hollywood for what they believe is the future of Movies, they push for more use of AI. According to “Filmmakers are worried about AI. Big tech wants them to see “what’s possible”.” There was an AI movie competition where they would showcase short films made with AI. Jon Jones, the head of AWS Startups, says the point was to see “what’s possible, not what’s perfect.” Sure, this may seem just to see what AI is capable of, but this is just the beginning to the end of creativity in filmmaking.
Another way AI can change the game in a Terrible way is using deepfakes or replacing the actor itself. If a studio can’t find an actor for their role or if they want to use someone who is not alive anymore, they can just use AI to take their face and put it on someone else. Doing this is just strange and inhumane. According to “Can AI replace actors? Here’s how digital double tech works.” it states that “A Patchwork of state laws means that, in most places, people have legal ownership over their own likeness, says Eleanor Lackman, a copyright and trademark attorney. But she notes that there are broad exceptions for artistic and expressive use, and filmmaking could easily fall under that designation.” With this information it’s so scary to know that you could get your likeness stolen without your own permission. Even if they have permission, viewers find it strange when seeing this being done. For example, in “Star Wars: Rouge one” they deep faked dead actor, Peter Cushing’s likeness to another person to have his character General Moff return. This was very controversial at the time leading to Disney getting a lawsuit. Others found it to be disrespectful and described it as a “digital indignity”.
The use of AI in films and tv shows is a disgrace to the creativity of writers and actors alike. Yes, the writers’ strike helped people realizes how bad it is in Hollywood but that’s not going to stop them from using AI, but if we speak out more about it, we can put an end to the use of AI in filmmaking.
