AI poses an existential threat to the entertainment industry as we comprehend it, and it’s entirely justified for the WGA to demand control over its usage. Networks and studios have a troubling history of adopting recent technologies. In 2008, studios commanded a $16.9 billion market in DVDs and residential videos, but their lack of expertise and adaptation to streaming technology caused an 86 percent loss throughout the first decade. Change happens rapidly within the entertainment sector, with sound movies replacing silent movies and tv superseding network radio. The rise of streaming has significantly impacted artists’ income and studio financing, wiping out billions in revenue.

Throughout these technological transitions, studios have historically pursued a scorched-earth policy, leaving entire generations of artists and technicians, along with the culture they created, behind. While these actions sustained the businesses themselves, they got here on the expense of others. In the continued technological reversal, where streamers are displacing the established studio infrastructure, one notable casualty has been the mid-budget movie. This level of funding allowed filmmakers to make a living, and empowered studios to take risks and discover recent audiences — all made possible by the protection net of DVD sales.

Joan is Awful is the newest episode from the Netflix sci-fi series, Black Mirror, and shows a dystopian world where Joan, played by Schitt Creek’s Annie Murphy, has her life portrayed by actress Salma Hayek on a streaming platform for entertainment. The characters are played by artificial intelligence however the human protagonists don’t have any legal rights to how their image is presented they usually either receive little compensation or none in any respect. With the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike voicing similar concerns in May about AI replacing scriptwriters, and anxious creatives like actors also moving into the talk about AI taking jobs, Black Mirror is more reality TV than sci-fi.

Throughout the six series of Black Mirror, author Charlie Brooker has explored the potential consequences of technology on society. Joan is Awful couldn’t be more topical and feeds into the zeitgeist that machines can replace humans in all employment sectors…