Hollywood writers are facing the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) replacing them. It’s a point of contention in the current Writers Guild strike against film/TV companies.
Scott Myers has been a Writers Guild member since 1987, and is a professor of screenwriting at Depaul University in Chicago. He also writes the blog “Go Into the Story” for the Black List.
On a scale of 1-10, Myers says 10+ is his level of worry about AI replacing screenwriters.
He explains that producers, studios and networks believe AI can take pre-existing content and create a full-fledged script from it, then have a real-life screenwriter humanize it. “That's what's happening behind closed doors right now. You can tell from the AMPTP’s [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers] response about that negotiating point — they weren't even willing to talk about it. They said, ‘We'll have meetings every year to talk about this sort of technology.’ So that does concern me.”
However, he acknowledges that AI can help humans before the page-writing process. He’s currently working with undergraduate and graduate students who are using AI for creating story ideas and developing characters.
Plus, he says the tech can understand scene construction (the beginning, middle, and end of stories), irony, and plot twists. “But as soon as you get into the arena of what human beings, actual characters are about, in terms of dialogue, and nuance, and complexity, it's just nowhere near where it needs to be at.”
And while some human-written content out there is already formulaic — especially with remakes, prequels, and sequels — Myers suspects it’ll get worse in the future with AI.
What about technology replacing actors (especially voice actors), directors, studio executives, and more? Myers suggests that’s fair game. “This is potentially going to impact everything. This all goes to this idea of optimization, which is to minimize expense and maximize profitability. And [studio executives] see this, I think, as a means to that end.”
What is the best way for writers to fight back? Myers suggests they’re already doing it: striking.
“You could look back on this historically, and say this was hopefully a turning point where humans basically stood up and said, ‘We need to put some parameters here, some fencing on this, because it could eradicate what we've come to know as a writing career in Hollywood.’ But beyond that, just the impact of workers everywhere.”