The Hollywood writers’ strike, like previous strikes, is about fair compensation for the work.
But unlike previous strikes, the writers don’t just have to deal with management. Instead, they have the potential threat of studios Turn to artificial intelligence to write scripts.
“AI could be crypto, or it could be the internet. We don’t know if it will shit the bed and become nothing or replace us all,” a writer-producer told The Hollywood Reporter.
It’s a growing problem, even as some filmmakers are testing the creative limits of AI.
South Park did an episode of it last month was partially written Using ChatGPT to write parts of episodes.
The use of the technology was clearly mentioned – ChatGPT even received a co-writing credit. Part of the process was designing it to take advantage of the weird things technology did in its early stages — like trying to convince a New York Times tech reporter to leave his wife .
Whether ChatGPT is currently able to write a truly and intentionally funny script remains to be seen, but The Hollywood Reporter recently did tries to test the app by asking them to write a legitimately humorous scene for 30 Rock.
After the entertainment news site shared ChatGPT is writing a 30 Rock script featuring characters Liz Lemon, Two-fer, Lutz and Frank going on strike and how it might impact their fictional series The Girlie Show.
The chatbot generated the scene in less than 15 seconds, but what matters is whether the result was funny.
You can read the scene in full on The Hollywood Reporter’s website, but Dan Fienberg, the site’s TV critic, wasn’t impressed — although the article notes that, like ChatGPT, he typed his response in under 30 seconds.
“The shape of the scene isn’t exactly terrible. It’s a farce that never really materializes, but the idea is a perfectly respectable C-,” admitted Fienberg. “However, the dialogue has no punch lines and no recognizable voices associated with characters with VERY recognizable voices.”
He added, “I’m pretty confident that Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski could read the phone book and be funny, but I’m just as confident they couldn’t be funny if they tried.”