"I’m a
writer." When you hear those words from someone you just met at a party, what comes
to your mind? A novelist, a journalist, a poet, a blogger? One who writes
stories, news, poems, or articles?
What
if someone in that party says to you that a writer could be replaced soonest by
artificial intelligence (AI) because it could write better, faster, and cheaper
than humans – that is, writing, as we know it, could be going out of fashion?
Yikes!
It sounds eerie, right? A science fiction movie, ‘tis not. This is the real
world that is already taking shape.
Imagine
you are a writer, crafting compelling stories, witty dialogues, and memorable
characters, for long hours. You love your job, but you get to have hungry mouths
to feed. You count on fair compensation for your work and rely upon some future
security and benefits. But what if you figure out that your employer is not
paying you what you deserve, or more awfully -- they are cooking up to replace you
with a machine? How do you feel? What would you do?
Today,
more than 11 thousand screenwriters have been putting up with such a dismal situation
-- one of the reasons why the Writers Guild of America (WGA) – a labor union representing
the writers -- is on strike.
THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG: PAY
& BENEFITS
The
WGA issues are:
Residuals.
Writers get residuals from their works reused or distributed on different platforms,
such as streaming services. The WGA wants to increase the residual rates for
streaming services being the dominant form of media consumption in recent years.
Health
Care. The WGA wants to maintain its health care plan, which covers medical,
dental, and vision, expenses for writers and their families. At the opposite
side of the negotiating table, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television
Producers (AMPTP) representing the major film and television Hollywood studios,
wants to reduce the contributions to the plan resulting in writers’ higher
premiums.
Pension.
The WGA wants to increase the contributions to its pensions plan which provides
retirement benefits for writers. The AMPTP wants to freeze the contributions at
the current level which would jeopardize the solvency of the plan.
These
issues are important to writers – for their livelihood and well-being – and to
consumers – for the content’s quality and diversity of the shows. However, such
issues are just the tip of the iceberg. Hidden and submerged in water, a large
chunk of the iceberg, like in a famous Titanic story, has been moving closer
and posing an existential threat to writers -- the impact of artificial
intelligence (AI).
THE HIDDEN DEPTHS: AI AND THE
FUTURE OF WRITING
AI has
been advancing so rapidly recently that it can carry out the following tasks:
generate text based on keywords, topics, or prompts; analyze text for
sentiment, tone, style, or grammar; summarize the text or rewrite it in different
ways; and even create original stories or scripts based on genres, characters,
or plots.
AI hangs
over the writers’ heads in two ways:
Replacement.
AI could potentially take the place of a human writer entirely or partially by
producing content faster, cheaper, and more efficiently resulting in job losses
or reduced income for writers.
Transformation.
AI could potentially transform the nature of writing by changing the
expectations, standards, and values of writing resulting in a loss of autonomy
or creativity for writers.
The end of the road of this strike is anyone’s guess -- as rough as mine with my three possible shots in the dark: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
SHOTS IN THE DARK
The Good
The WGA
and the AMPT reach an agreement that addresses both the visible tip and the hidden
large chunk of the issues of the strike. The writers get better pay and
benefits, as well as recognition and protection for their work in the face of
AI. The studios and networks get to keep producing quality and diverse content
with the collaboration of human and AI writers. The consumers get to enjoy more
stories that are original and authentic.
The Bad
The WGA
and the AMPTP fail to reach an agreement that addresses both the visible and
hidden issues of the strike. Just as the writers are not giving up the strike, thereby
losing income and opportunities, so too do studios and networks stick with
producing content with AI writers, thereby losing quality and diversity. Meanwhile,
consumers get bored or disillusioned with stories that are bland or phony.
The Ugly
The
WGA and the AMPTP reach an agreement that addresses only the visible issues of
the strike, ignoring or dismissing the hidden issues. The writers get better
pay and benefits but lose their dignity and purpose as writers. The studios and
networks get to export the writers and the AI writers, maximizing profits and
control. Consumers get manipulated or deceived by stories that are biased and
harmful.
AI IS HERE TO STAY
Not
only is the WGA strike a labor dispute – the tip of the iceberg, it is a wake-up
call for writers and readers alike, a sign of the times we live in, where AI is disrupting every
industry and profession -- the larger part of the iceberg submerged in the water. Being the most endangered by this technological shift, writers
are facing new challenges in this digital era.
As a
writer myself, I feel for the WGA’s cause. Writing is not only a profession but
also a passion and a craft. Needing creativity, skill, and imagination, writing
is not something that can be simply taken over by algorithms and machines.
Or can
it?
As a
reader, neither a writer nor living in the U.S., you may ask, “What’s in it for
me?” Well, get ready. As the old saying goes, “When America sneezes, the world
catches cold.” And AI is not just a cold. It is a deviant kind of pandemic that
could affect our lives and work.
The writers
are not all alone. AI poses also a threat to other fields like law, medicine,
and education as shown by the following headlines:
“ChatGPT
passes exams from law and business schools” (CNN)
“ChatGPT
passes gold-standard US medical exam” (Daily Mail)
“ChatGPT
passes MBA exam given by a Wharton professor” (NBC)
AI
technology that drives ChatGPT, a natural language processing tool, is
reshaping our society and culture. But AI is not an enemy. It is a tool. A tool
that can be used for good or evil. A tool that can enhance or diminish our
human potential.
How do
we solve the problem like AI?
First,
we can get to know the impact of AI on our lives and work. Second, we can make
sense of the AI benefits and risks. Third, we can stand up for the ethical and
responsible use of AI. Fourth, we can
support the workers affected by AI, like the WGA members. Fifth, we can champion our
human creativity and harness it to uplift our lives.
The
writer George Orwell once said, “The further a society drifts from the truth, the
more it will hate those who speak it.”
Amid the squabble in the marketplace of ideas, the truth is -- AI is here to stay.
Content of this article put
together in collaboration with Microsoft Bing AI-powered copilot
Head still photo courtesy of
Supernatural Wiki
Video clips courtesy of YouTube
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