How the WGA Decided to Harness — But Not Ban — Artificial Intelligence
variety.comGene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Last summer, Van Robichaux ran for the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America West.
Out of 17 candidates, he was the only one who raised a concern about artificial intelligence in his campaign statement. “As far as I know, this issue is not on the radar of anyone else running for the board and while I might sound like a paranoid lunatic talking about it today, in 10 years I’m confident you’ll be glad I brought it up now,” he wrote.
He did not win. AI has since become the hottest topic in the creative economy, spurred by the release of models like Stable Diffusion last August and ChatGPT in November.
Across disciplines – graphic design, animation, acting, music, writing – artists are terrified of being replaced by robots. “I think they’re right to be concerned,” said Bruce Schneier, a lecturer in cybersecurity at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. “Things are changing so fast, that things that were true three months ago aren’t true today.” AI has also become a central issue in the writers strike, displacing more familiar fears like the rise of streaming and the decline of residuals.
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