As the digital age progresses more and more by the day, we see how it affects our day-to-day lives, workplace, and entertainment. Artificial intelligence (AI) has had a lot of influence on the entertainment industry, some for better and some for worse. With the current writers and actors strike happening, a good chunk of it can be brought back to generative AI’s hand in the industry, like in the production studios and writing rooms. One of the big questions is, could artificial intelligence positively or negatively impact the industry?
A big issue the entertainment industry faces is the way AI can potentially replace voice actors without their consent and manipulate it for the sake of the show or movie. Not to mention, AI having a hand in taking over the voices of actors who have passed away has caused The National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) to draw the ethical lines in the use of generative AI in film; this has been a bit difficult, to say the least. While generative AI does this, it takes away opportunities from potential voice actors who are more than capable of doing the job.
Generative AI also causes issues in production studios. Special effects are commonly needed and used in big movies like Avatar or franchises like Marvel, and AI seems to be taking on production tasks as well. While this may be easier and cheaper for production companies, it takes a lot of jobs away from people on production and tech crews. It is a bit tough, though, seeing as how generative AI can make special effects look a lot more realistic and speed up the production process.
Production companies are pushing that generative AI has an “advantage” to the industry by giving media workers (behind the scenes and on-screen) competition that will, in turn, make them want to work harder. This, in my opinion, is a very shallow and non-educational narrative to push out. As someone who is pursuing a job in the entertainment industry, we have seen artificial intelligence build its way up to where it is now, and looking at our past, that “advantage” was and will never be true. Excessive use of AI has only set us back in the entertainment world and has not once shown us the competitive side to it, but only how easy it is to have technology replace humans. I think that is a part of the reason why writers and production crew members are fed up with how generative AI has made its way to voice acting; it has left a lot of actors feeling the same way.