FX’s ‘Class of ’09’ Creators Aren’t Pressing the ‘Panic Button’ on AI Just Yet

thewrap.com:

WGA strike continues to unfold, one of the key issues at its center has to do with artificial intelligence. While AI may be a relatively new concern for many in Hollywood, it’s old hat to Tom Rob Smith and Joe Robert Cole, two of the executive producers behind FX’s upcoming drama “Class of ’09.” Though their new series examines the dangers of law enforcement relying too heavily on AI, Smith isn’t concerned that AI in its modern form will fully replace writers. “I’m less worried than other people are right now on the story creation, but I could be just naive about that right now,” Smith, who previously served as an executive producer and writer for “The Assassination of Gianna Versace: American Crime Story,” told TheWrap. “I asked AI to write lots of fairy tales for me, and I read them.

They were not good,” he continued. It was clear the program had copied and pasted elements from other fairy tales. But ultimately what was missing in these stories was what Smith referred to as “the leap” — the moment when a piece of art that’s clearly drawing from other influences suddenly goes in an unexpected direction. “When I see that then I will press the panic button,” Smith said.While Cole, best known for co-writing “Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” agreed that AI is currently unable to “go off in some odd direction” like a human writer, he was warier than his co-executive producer. “Where I think it is a very important point of concern for writers is when it comes to IP material or some stories that are four quadrant, very simple kind of narratives,” Cole said. “All of a sudden — you’re thinking five or 10 years from now — those projects are all being put together by a computer, and the craft of being a writer.