Don't Declare a Wrap Yet: AI Needs Creatives More Than Ever 🎬

Actors are on strike and Hollywood is half-shuttered. The eyes of the world are trained on Tinseltown as words like 'dwindling pay' and 'threat posed by artificial intelligence' ricochet off studio walls. SAG-AFTRA has drawn a line in the California sand, echoing the Writer's Guild of America's mantra: "AI cannot replace us." The hand-wringing over artificial intelligence, and the existential threat it poses, is palpable in the LA air. But here’s the clincher Hollywood seems to be missing: AI needs creatives more than ever, despite the paranoia.

True, Hollywood has seen AI-based technologies offer tantalizing glimpses of a future where image and voice replication are commonplace. They've marveled at the likes of ChatGPT, which can imitate human writing with such finesse that it feels written by a pen, not a program. But they've also recoiled at the limitations of these systems. When left to its own devices, AI tends to trip over the facts, crashes and burns with original content, and clumsily parks itself in the uncanny valley of creativity.

No lights, camera, action yet! AI is not the new director; it’s an eager-to-learn assistant seeking input from—and here's the twist—humans. Generative models like GPTs do not create in a vacuum; they learn and evolve based on input from human writers, actors, directors, and even accountants. Moreover, they are not striking out is some pseudo-creative rebellion—they are tools seeking to augment our abilities and efficiency.

Engaging with AI isn't a race to the bottom where creatives are forced out of the arena. Quite the contrary, it's a collaborative process where AI and creatives play off each other's strengths. Think of it as a fresh creative alliance where human creativity is propelled by AI horsepower. Writers can start 80% up the value chain, yielding vast spans of time and energy which they can redirect to refining narratives and dialogues. Meanwhile, production studios can harness AI to tackle the menial and mundane, leaving space for grand strategy and innovation.

Making a connection between the cost of living and the use of AI is like comparing apples and oranges. We need to remember that AI isn’t donning a suit and swaggering into the studios with its salary demands. Instead, it's the studios, writers, and actors who need to draw up a new narrative around AI—one that is fair, beneficial to all, and safeguards the livelihoods of the ones powering this creative synergy.

Remember, AI doesn't dream of the next Oscar-winner—it needs the SAG-AFTRA and Writer's Guild members to do that. AI doesn’t aspire, it enables. It takes human creative genius to move audiences, to create magic on screen and on script, to weave narratives that resonate across continents. Our fear shouldn't be about AI replacing us, it should be about not leveraging its potential to amplify our own.

So, instead of picketing AI, let's invite it to the table as a collaborator—not a competitor. Let's craft a deal that protects the creators while harnessing the efficiency of advanced tech. Let's shape a future where dazzling efficiency doesn't dim creative brilliance. If we get this right, AI won't take the stage—it will be there to ensure that human creativity takes the spotlight. It always has, and it always should.

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