ChatGPT Row: Hollywood Writers Protest Against Artificial Intelligence (AI)
With the advent of technologies such as ChatGPT, writers and journalists fear losing their jobs. Hollywood writers have called for protests against AI and demanded strict action against its use in creative projects. This week, thousands of unionised writers went on strike, demanding better pay, and highlighting issues such as the rise of generative AI like ChatGPT. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is demanding that Hollywood's top studios and networks regulate the use of AI on creative projects.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents most of the industry's big entertainment companies, rejected the WGA's proposal. This development has raised concerns about AI taking away all the writer's jobs. However, experts believe that AI will likely replace humans for some writing tasks like routine letters or press releases but not for writing tasks that are complex and require creativity.
The WGA strike has caught the attention of other professional sectors. Actor and producer Justine Bateman has urged others to pay close attention to the strike as it is a fight against the devaluing of human effort, skill, and talent in favour of automation and profits.
The WGA and the studios are currently battling over AI, highlighting how much has changed in the entertainment industry since the last time Hollywood writers went on strike in 2007. Experts are also concerned about the dangers of AI chatbots and their potential misuse by bad actors, such as affecting elections and inciting violence.
The Godfather of AI, Geoffery Hinton, recently retired from Google, claiming that the technology can be dangerous to the future. He fears the technology's misuse by nefarious individuals and its potential to upend the job market. While chatbots such as ChatGPT currently complement human workers, they could replace paralegals, personal assistants, translators, and others who handle rote tasks. "It takes away the drudge work," Hinton said. "It might take away more than that."
