Note: At the time of this editorial’s submission deadline, the Hollywood locals had just concluded local negotiations for craft-specific issues with the AMPTP and we were preparing to enter general negotiations to bargain on issues impacting all members of our union. Unfortunately, this deadline and the timing of this edition of our magazine’s release do not allow for us to cover the most timely information with regards to negotiations. IATSE members should keep an eye on their local announcement emails and official correspondence from the union to remain up-to-date on the state of negotiations.
Let’s Meet the Press…
When I was in high school, one of my first real paid jobs was as a student journalist in my city’s printed newspaper. My first article was above the fold, front page, in print. Yes, I have just dated myself, but I am proud of it. I was unofficially interning at the Chicago Tribune in the photo department and was editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper. I loved to research and get the story. It was one of my favorite high school activities. And I still write on steno pads, rather than legal. At the time, my goal was to go to school for journalism. My journalism career was side-swiped by a more glamorous and lucrative career in TV and film, but the lessons imposed on me in Mr. Venetucci’s junior and senior year broadcast TV class have never left my system.
I am and will always be a skeptic of the press.
Earlier this year, panic swept through our industry as OpenAI announced Sora—their text-to-video artificial intelligence (AI) program. Initial promos for the service were impressive, particularly if viewed on small displays such as those of a cellphone, tablet, or laptop. News then followed that OpenAI was attempting to court Hollywood studios with this new product and shortly after that, The Hollywood Reporter announced that producer and studio owner Tyler Perry would be halting construction on an $800 million expansion of his Atlanta-based studio because of his belief that Sora and similar AI tools would fundamentally change the way our industry functions. Perry called for guardrails to be placed on the use of AI, citing that it would be a job killer. Then in April, OpenAI released Air Head, a short film produced by ShyKids using Sora to demonstrate the capabilities of this new tool. All these stories paint a bleak picture for our business if taken at face value.
But let’s dissect what we’re seeing.
Over the past six months, I have received hundreds of articles, social media posts, YouTube videos, and white papers on the subject of AI. KTLA recently did a story on AI-generated news reports, demonstrating how you can find examples of the fully generated news stories on various social media outlets. It made me think about my skepticism with the press and how much skepticism could potentially grow as a result of AI-generated news outlets.
In the same interview where Tyler Perry voiced his concerns around AI, he acknowledged incorporating AI tools into his own productions, which “kept [him] out of makeup for hours.” How can a man call for regulations and guardrails around the very tools he’s using; how can he call for worker protections while simultaneously displacing workers? And two weeks after Air Head released, the crew behind it revealed that Sora was not solely responsible for its creation. Instead, the team had to employ a variety of traditional filmmaking and VFX processes to complete the project, as Sora repeatedly struggled to generate assets without errors.
There is a narrative being created around artificial intelligence and it is being created by those who have embraced AI. As I continue to dive deep into this new area of our industry, I am continuously skeptical about the news circulating around this cultural change. It takes me twice as long as the average person to read the daily news. When I read one news source, I search for the opposing view on the same subject and compare the two. Usually more than two. Then I often ask myself a series of questions:
“Why did this article come out today?”
“What is the cultural context of this information?”
“Who are the sources and how do they know this journalist?”
“What are the contributing factors that go into why this story was published?”
“Who is the writer?”
“What is the publication?” and more importantly,
“Who owns this publication?”
On April 29, 2024, Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, attended a sit-down with the leaders of five major news organizations in which he said, “I think we are in an era where misinformation and disinformation [are] proliferating. I think it’s being exacerbated by so many technologies. So that is clearly a headwind. The fact that we are seeing such a massive change in how our consumers are wanting to engage and consume news and information, that’s a real change for all of us.”
Conde also added, “I think in a world where audiences are going to be inundated with so much information, news from so many places … I think this dynamic will increase, which is why they are going to gravitate toward trusted brands, news organizations that have long records focused on accuracy, extraordinarily high standards. News organizations that invest in original journalism. I think we will continue to see that trend of audiences looking and seeking out those trusted brands.”
As we continue into the election year and artificial intelligence remains to be a topic of conversation in our zeitgeist, I encourage you to ask the same questions when you read the Sunday paper or scroll through TikTok. Let’s not displace our research skills or thought process for a machine processing data and disseminating potentially harmful information.
In Solidarity
President Jillian Arnold