Not long ago, artificial intelligence was practically a non-issue in Hollywood’s labor talks. Now, AI is a top concern for creatives in Hollywood. With the Writers Guild on strike and SAG-AFTRA negotiating AI use with the studios, Oscar-nominated screenwriter (“Captain Phillips”), and director (“Shattered Glass,” “The Comey Rule”) Billy Ray has found a new passion. Alongside film producer Todd Garner, he now hosts “Strike Talk” — a podcast for deadline.com. In a recent episode, he engaged in a "chilling" chat with an AI he named “Poe.”
He joins Kim Masters to talk about the guilds’ battles surrounding AI.
“Do we think that AI ultimately becomes a tool of good?,” Ray asks. “I think history gives us many precedents to indicate that in the hands of the people we're striking against, AI is a God awful deadly force.”
Ray also discusses the present limitations and potential dangers of machine learning in the workplace, how it could soon be hosting podcasts, and whether the fast-moving technology thinks it can take over Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s job.