Express View on Hollywood strike: Union v AI

For the first time since 1960 — and only the second time ever — Hollywood is on strike. The Screen Actors Guild has joined the Writers Guild to demand better pay, working conditions and, perhaps most significantly, protections and security against the rising threat of artificial intelligence in an era of content-hungry streaming platforms. While it is easy to think of writers and actors in sunny LA and imposing New York as the rich trying to get richer, there is more to films — and those who make them.

Simply put, the rise of streaming giants has led to a reduction in the amount of work as well as residuals (royalties) for creative workers. Long before “gig economy” became part of the jargon of policy documents, actors, writers, assistants, et al, moved from job to job, with long periods of uncertainty in between. It was through collective bargaining that the talent that makes tinsel town run got some security. The first strike in the 1960s, and then the writers’ strike in the 2000s, led to even better contracts for those who tell the Tom Cruises and Brad Pitts what to say.

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Since the launch of ChatGPT last year, the fear of white collar workers becoming redundant — from writers and editors to photographers, coders and data crunchers — has gone from the realm of speculative fiction to economic planning. Yet, historically, regulation has lagged woefully behind technology, especially in the internet age. Sometimes, collective bargaining can lead to a compromise, a sustainable path forward that protects those who make the product as well as those who profit from it. But another facet stands out for India, as it watches Hollywood’s biggest and richest halt ongoing and future projects in solidarity with their colleagues who have far less influence. Star power, it is clear, can be used for more than selling soap, cold drinks and propaganda.