Hollywood Producer Calls AI ‘A Tool That Enhances Human Creativity’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Many people in Hollywood have already labeled AI as a threat to their work, but some voices in the industry are looking use the new tech as a tool.
“I think that artificial intelligence, with proper regulation, is a tool that absolutely ignites and enhances human creativity,” said Hollywood producer and editor Zack Arnold. “As long as we maintain that we are in the driver’s seat and we are the author as humans, I think that, to me, at least from a creative perspective, that’s the direction that we have to go.”
Arnold, who has worked on COBRA KAI, EMPIRE, and GLEE, called AI tech “both the foe and a friend.”
“I just don’t believe that original ideas exist; I don’t believe creativity is creating something from nothing,” Arnold continued. “I believe it’s creating something else from other things in a unique combination. And I think that whether it’s the human brain doing that or it’s AI using similar neural networks to help us facilitate and speed up that process, I have no problem with that. As long as… the part is what I own.”
Ryan Steelberg, co-founder and CEO of Veritone, a leading AI software tech company, echoed those comments, calling it “a powerful tool.”
“I think people who know how to and learn how to wield it the best are going to have a significant part of advancing,” he explained. “I think it’s going to be every area of the creative ecosystem, you know, including cinematographers, directors… For good or bad, you know, we need to be experts in this.”
AI technology has become a major component in the ongoing Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild strike, with writers and actors fearful that studios will use the technology to replace them.
Fran Drescher, THE NANNY actress and president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said, “Artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to creative professions, and all actors and performers deserve contract language that protects them from having their identity and talent exploited without consent and pay.”
“If we don’t stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble. We are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines,” Drescher stated.
CNN reported that it’s unlikely AI will be truly banned — “More likely it will set up rules for its use, and compensation minimum for actors whose voice or image is manipulated and inserted using AI.”
Movieguide® previously reported on the strikes:
As the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) joins the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on the picket line, media executives need to settle negotiations fast otherwise the repercussions could change the future of the industry.
“There’s going to be a lot of blood in the water,” director emeritus of USC’s Annenberg Innovation Lab, Jonathan Taplin said. “This is not going to end well.”
The industry has already been suffering from the WGA strike that has been ongoing since the beginning of May. Production on most scripted shows and movies have been delayed until the WGA members come back to work. Now, as 160,000 actors and other performers join the strike, the only projects that can still be worked on are those in the post-production phase.
Viewers have already started to feel the effects of the strike as late-night comedians like Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert have been off air since the writers’ strike began. However, as the strikes extend, the effects will become more widespread. The upcoming fall season could be void of new episodes on scripted shows including ABBOT ELEMENTARY, LAW AND ORDER: SVU and NCIS.
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