A prominent talent lawyer for A-list Hollywood stars is predicting that the writers strike will accelerate the industry’s adoption of artificial intelligence technology, saying the longer the strike lasts, the more scripts will be written by AI.
Attorney Leigh Brecheen — whose client list has included Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen, and John Oliver — made the prognostication in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I absolutely promise you that some people are already working on getting scripts written by AI, and the longer the strike lasts, the more resources will be poured into that effort,” Brecheen said.
The prediction represents a serious conundrum for striking Hollywood writers, whose many demands include assurances they won’t be replaced by AI.
Writers fear they will either be eliminated by these applications — which, theoretically, will be able to spit out TV and movie scripts in seconds — or will be reduced to polishing AI-generated content. Meanwhile, studios have multiple incentives to adopt AI — no pesky writers strikes, for one thing.
In the days leading up to Monday’s call for a strike, studios balked at discussing the impact of AI on writers’s livelihoods. The Writers Guild of America said they proposed an agreement that would “regulate [the] use of artificial intelligence,” and specifically prevent AI from writing or rewriting scripts.
But the guild said in a document released Monday that the studios “rejected our proposal” and countered by offering “annual meetings to discuss advancements in technology.”
As Breitbart News reported, Hollywood writers walked off the job late Monday after the WGA failed to reach a new contract with the studios. The first casualties of the strike were the late-night network comedy shows, including the ones hosted by left-wing comedians Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert. NBC’s Saturday Night Live is also going on hiatus starting this week.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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