AI will not replace screenwriters, actors or directors

• Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos doesn't believe actors and directors will be replaced by AI programs.
• “AI won't take your job. It's just that someone who uses AI well might take your job,” he added.
• The threat posed by AI was a key issue in last year's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, 59, said he doesn't see film creative staff or actors losing their jobs to AI programs for now.

“I don't think an AI program will ever be able to write a better script than a great screenwriter or replace a great performance or be able to tell the difference,” Sarandos told The New York Times in an interview published Saturday.

“AI won't take your job. It's just that someone who uses AI well might take your job,” he added.

Sarandos was named co-CEO of Netflix in July 2020, alongside the company's founder Reed Hastings, who will be replaced by Netflix COO Greg Peters when Hastings steps down to become Netflix's executive chairman in January 2023.

Sarandos said AI will have the same impact on the entertainment industry as other technological advancements of the past.

“Remember when everyone fought home video? For decades, studios wouldn't license movies to television,” Sarandos told the Times.

“Every technological advancement in entertainment has led to a battle and ultimately a growth in the business. It remains to be seen whether that will be the case this time,” he continued.

Sarandos' comments are surprising given the streaming giant's use of data and analytics to guide its creative decisions.

Last year, Netflix announced it was looking for a product manager for a role focused on AI. The job ad, which offered a salary of $300,000 to $900,000, said AI would be used across Netflix's operations, including helping with buying and “creating amazing content.”

A Netflix representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI outside of regular business hours.

The rise of AI over the past year has shaken up Hollywood and the entertainment industry as a whole, with many creatives voicing concerns about how the technology will impact their lives.

Last year, both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) staged strikes over issues including pay and the threat of artificial intelligence.

Members of both groups believed that cost-conscious studios could use AI to replace screenwriters and actors on their productions.

The WGA strike lasted for approximately 150 days, from May 2023 to September 2023. The SAG-AFTRA strike was similar, beginning in July 2023 and ending 118 days later in November 2023.

In February, OpenAI surprised the world by releasing “Sora,” a model that can generate videos from text.

Named after the Japanese word for “sky,” this model can generate high-quality videos with just a simple text prompt.

“I'm in the middle of an $800 million expansion plan for the studio, and I've been planning it for the last four years,” director and actor Tyler Perry told The Hollywood Reporter. “All of that is now on indefinite hold because of what Sora and I are looking at.”