Another “flashy” job taken from artificial intelligence: No one escapes AI, trying to reclaim it but in vain!

Even the screenwriter is afraid of losing his job because of AI

By all criteria, John August is a successful screenwriter. He is the one who wrote such films as “Big Fish”, “Charlie’s Angels” and “Go.” But even a veteran of the film industry, August is concerned that AI will impact his work.

A series of powerful new AI tools, trained on massive online databases, can now generate essays, lyrics, and written works in response to user requests.

While there are limits to its effectiveness in creating compelling creative stories, AI is becoming more and more advanced, making writers like August wary.

“Writers are concerned about the script becoming a feeder material into the system to transform other scripts, how to process and write story ideas,” said August, a committee member of the Association. The Writers Guild of America (WGA), told CNN.

“The work we do should not be replaced by such systems.”

August is one of more than 11,000 members of the WGA who have gone on strike this month, halting production of some TV shows and delaying the launch of new seasons later this year.

The WGA is asking the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP) to make a series of changes, from salary increases to guidelines in cooperation with streaming services. Besides, WGA is also fighting to protect livelihoods from AI.

In a proposal published on the WGA’s website this week, the association said AI should be regulated so that “literary material cannot be written or rewritten, not used as source material” and that the work of writers “cannot be used to train AI”.

The WGA said the proposal was rejected by AMPTP.

The writers’ AI bargaining drive is perhaps the most high-profile labor battle to address concerns about the effects of the technology since ChatGPT was released to the public.

AI in Film and TV

AI has had its place in Hollywood for many years. In the popular Marvel movie – “Avengers Infinity Wars” 2018, the face of Thanos – the character played by actor Josh Brolin – was created in part thanks to this technology.

Crowds and fight scenes in movies like “The Lord of the Rings” and “Meg” also use AI, and the most recent Indiana Jones film used technology to help Harrison Ford’s character look younger. .

The tool is also used to correct colors, find footage faster in post-production, and make improvements like removing scratches and dust from footage.

But AI in screenwriting is still in its infancy. In March, an episode of “South Park” called “Deep Learning” was co-written by ChatGPT and the tool also became central to the plot.

August says writers are mostly open to incorporating new tools, as long as they’re used as a support or research platform, while writers are still recognized and valued throughout production. .

“We happily switched from typewriters to word-processing software, and it boosted productivity. But we didn’t need a magic typewriter that could type all the scripts on its own. copy,” August said.

Because large language models are trained on previously written text, concerns about intellectual property rights also exist.

“Chatbot is fully capable of creating a script in the style of a particular filmmaker or screenwriter without the prior consent of the original artist or the Hollywood studio that holds the copyright,” David Gunkel, professor in the department of communications at Northern Illinois University, said.

For example, a user can ask ChatGPT to create a zombie apocalypse drama in the style of David Mamet.

No matter how the studios react, the reality is hard to change in Hollywood. August said the contracts of film and television actors will expire in June, and many are worried about their faces, bodies and voices being replaced by AI as well.