AI impact, 160,000 actors in Hollywood went on strike, will the actor industry "disappear"?

Image source: Generated by Unbounded AI tool

Source: Financial Associated Press

Editor: Xia Hongling

Original title: "Washed by the wave of AI, Hollywood actors are not only worried about economic problems, but also afraid of losing the future"

How many actors are needed for movies and shows produced by US studios and streaming services on July 19? Nowadays, Hollywood actors are in danger of this. They are not only worried about their own financial loss, but also afraid of losing their future completely.

SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood's largest actors' union, stated that artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to a significant reduction in future employment of actors. 160,000 Hollywood actors went on strike on Friday after their union failed to reach a new labor contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), joining screenwriters already on strike in a standoff that could see the The entertainment industry ground to a halt.

At present, after tools such as ChatGPT are widely used, the impact of artificial intelligence on writers seems to be more serious than actors. Therefore, members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) started a strike as early as May in an attempt to limit the use of artificial intelligence. , but SAG-AFTRA and its strikers are also full of concerns about artificial intelligence.

"If we don't step up now, we're all going to be in trouble, we're all at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence," SAG-AFTRA chairman Fran Drescher said at a press conference last week.

The danger of the disappearance of the actor industry

The use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) to create virtual actors and extras has become somewhat passé in Hollywood. But just as computers could replace animation artists, AI could make it easier and cheaper to use CGI to generate performances by virtual actors. As a result, SAG-AFTRA says studios are looking to use AI to "eliminate" acting jobs.

Using artificial intelligence to create performances that never happened is not just hypothetical, it has already happened. AI-generated deepfakes, such as a series of convincing but entirely fabricated Tom Cruise videos, are currently mostly found on social media rather than in movies or TV shows.

And the same technology could just as easily be used to replace actors in background roles in studio and streaming productions, so-called extras, or less prominent roles, which means that all but a handful of top performers, 90 There is no need for actors above % to exist. Going forward, even the industry of actors will disappear completely in the not-too-distant future.

So far, the two sides haven't even agreed on a proposal for the studio's use of artificial intelligence. AMPTP said its proposals included "a groundbreaking artificial intelligence proposal that would protect the digital likeness rights of SAG-AFTRA members, including requiring performers to consent to the creation and use of digital likenesses."

But the union side insists that the threat to their jobs is very real and that studio assurances are far less valuable than management claims. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator, said: "They proposed that our background actors should be scanned and paid a day's wages, and their company should own the content of the scans, their image, their likeness, Being able to use it in any project they want, without consent or compensation.”

Completely Banning AI is Impossible

Experts believe that no matter what agreement is reached on artificial intelligence, it is impossible to completely ban the use of artificial intelligence to create virtual actors in movies. More likely, it will establish rules of use and set minimum compensation standards for actors who use artificial intelligence to manipulate and insert sounds or images.

Anthony Palomba, a professor at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and an expert in entertainment science and media, said of the AI ban: "I think we're well past that tipping point. Studios are reluctant to limit the use of AI. Actors know that. The technology exists, but they don't know what to do with it."

The use of CGI to generate virtual performances has been used in Hollywood for decades, such as crowd shots in sports movies and fighters in fight scenes. More representatively, in the "Fast and Furious" series, Paul Walker, one of the core characters of the film, unfortunately passed away during filming, but CG technology allowed him to "resurrect".

Some experts pointed out that the rapid progress of artificial intelligence technology is also one of the reasons why it is difficult to reach an agreement. "The technology is evolving so rapidly that it is difficult to develop a meaningful set of details and guidelines that will not become obsolete within a certain period of time," said artificial intelligence and machine learning expert Rowan Curran.

Joshua Glick, adjunct professor of film and electronic arts at Bard College, said: "The real anxiety and emotion is not just what is happening now, but the prospect of the future."

AI will also be an issue in other labor negotiations

Asked whether writing or acting jobs are most threatened by artificial intelligence, the University of Virginia's Palomba replied: "I'm not sure anyone knows the answer to that question, and if they say they do, they're lying to you."

In general negotiations, all controversial issues basically come down to economic issues. But the fight over artificial intelligence is about the future of technology used in movies and shows, and its unpredictable impact on jobs. Finding a middle ground can be especially difficult for this reason, experts say.

“I think it’s going to be hard to get a deal around AI because they’re negotiating things that nobody’s sure will have an impact a few years from now,” said Andrea Schneider, a professor at Cardozo Law School and an expert on negotiation and conflict resolution.

Next, the strike scene of Hollywood screenwriters and actors should be staged in various other industries, because the unemployment caused by artificial intelligence may sweep the world. David Gunkel, a professor of communication at Northern Illinois University, believes that actors and screenwriters are like canaries in the coal mine, and they will be the first to face the impact of artificial intelligence.