Behind-the-scenes algorithms: Hollywood and the AI technology revolution

January 29, 2024

The audiovisual landscape, like so many other sectors, is transforming the industry at a dizzying speed thanks to the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The convergence of advanced algorithms and digital film production has led to a revolution, challenging the traditional conventions of the entertainment industry.

This change is not free of tensions, as evidenced by the recent actors' and screenwriters' strike that has shaken Hollywood, marking a turning point in the relationship between human creativity and automation.

In this context, regulation presents itself as an inescapable necessity, a crucial measure to balance the limitless possibilities of AI with the core values of cinematic storytelling and the creative workforce. Let's delve into the intricacies of this revolution that is already a reality.

Lights, camera...and strike! Hollywood and the digital transformation

In 2007 the Western film (and series) hub was thrown into chaos when the WGA (Writers Guild of America, the American screenwriters' union) called a historic strike. The dispute centered on an emerging scenario: the digital consumption of content.

The irruption of online platforms and streaming services (many of them new digital players on an analog board), which promised a new paradigm, sparked a crucial conflict over fair compensation for screenwriters in this new terrain.

Hollywood titans found themselves caught between the pages of scripts and code lines, as screenwriters sought to adapt their contracts to the rapidly evolving digital age. This 100-day strike not only brought production to a standstill, but also exposed the cracks in the traditional business model in the face of digital transformations that would shape the future of the entertainment industry.

In 2023 we experience deja vù: the breakdown of negotiations between the actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) triggers a new strike, the first of its kind since 1980. Tensions escalate with the simultaneous strike of screenwriters beginning in May.

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher accuses the AMPTP of acting in an "insulting and disrespectful" way and highlights four key factors in the strike: economic justice, regulation of the use of Artificial Intelligence, adaptation to self-recording, and residuals (additional payments received for continued use of a work after its initial release, which were a key point in the 2007 strike, to recognize that their product generates value long after its initial release).

Using "digital doubles" without explicit consent is one of the main points of tension regarding AI.

There were several points of tension regarding AI. One of the main ones was the use of "digital doubles," in most cases without explicit consent. Extras and extras reported that on many occasions they had been scanned as part of their contract, without specifying what for, finding that they were not rehired because they had a digital model to use for free.

SAG-AFTRA demanded regulation of this technology, fairly compensating those people from whom a digital double is generated. Similarly, the WGA called for limiting the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to dispense with real scriptwriters.

It all sounds like science fiction, but it is already the daily life of tens of thousands of professionals in the audiovisual sector, who see their jobs endangered by the unregulated and improper use of AI.

There is no doubt that this is only the beginning of a long road to understanding and a new production model that enables digital transformation in a humane, sustainable, and ethical way. Here are some recent examples of the use of AI in cinema and television.

We’re living in the future

AI has always been part of the cinematic imagination, and science fiction features hundreds of movies with this theme, from Metropolis or Blade Runner to Terminator and War Games.

In recent years, movies have been becoming more realistic, as what seemed pure fantasy begins to be perceived as a reality that already exists or is very close to being so. Just look at how two of the most critically acclaimed movies in 2023, The Creator and Mission: Impossible. Dead Reckoning, have AI as a central theme (in fact, Joe Biden acknowledged that the latter motivated him to pass the new U.S. regulations on AI.

Black Mirror posed a great dilemma that seemed to predict what happened later with the strike.

In the small screen world, the very dark Black Mirror posed a great dilemma that seemed to predict (once again) what happened later with the strike. Spoiler alert! In its first episode of the sixth season, Joan is awful, a streaming platform -suspiciously similar to Netflix- generates with AI a series in almost real time narrating the day of a user but starring a digital double of actress Salma Hayek.

Seeing her privacy exposed in this way, the only way to get the platform's attention is for the user to do extremely ridiculous and humiliating things, so that Salma Hayek herself complains about appearing on screen performing these actions with which she does not agree and for which she is not getting paid. Considering the previous section, does it sound familiar?

But we don't need to talk about AI movies or series, because AI already creates them (partially, although it's a matter of time before it can do it completely), generally with some controversy. Disney has clearly taken the lead in this field, as early as 2020 with The Mandalorian and the rejuvenation of Mark Hamill through deepfake.
Most recently, Marvel's Loki series has AI-generated promotional art, and Secret Invasion, also from Marvel, employs AI in its credits, with a somewhat questionable result (although defended by the showrunners).
Lastly, the Disney+ film Prom Pact [Link: https://nypost.com/2023/10/15/disneys-prom-pact-has-audiences-cringing-at-ai-actors/] used AI-generated extras in one scene, with a more than objectionable finish in this case. These digital doubles were also mostly non-white ethnicities, thus eliminating job opportunities for African American or Asian people, further deepening the complex ethical aspect of unregulated AI.

A less controversial application of AI in cinema is the possibility of being able to restore and even rescue virtually lost films, in particular, celluloids before 1930.

While traditional techniques are insufficient, AI proves capable of going further and being able to share with the public a cinema that could not otherwise exist.

For example, the mega-documentary Get Back (also from Disney+) restored footage in very poor condition, especially in terms of sound quality, using AI. In this way, it was possible to isolate each instrument separately, reaching an excellent audio standard.

In the same way, these techniques have been used so that in 2023 we will experience the release of a new song by The Beatles, Now and Then, by being able to repair John Lennon's voice from a 1977 home recording, and make it sound as if it had been recorded in the studio.

An inevitable revolution, an inexcusable regulation

The SAG-AFTRA strike eventually came to an end with the ratification of a new agreement in December 2023. Within this, there are 5 whole pages dedicated solely to the role of AI, stipulating ethical and legal boundaries, and requiring both explicit consent and fair remuneration for people affected by the application of these tools.

It is clear that AI is here to stay. If we look in the rear-view mirror, we realize that, although it may seem like ChatGPT has been with us all our lives, it was launched in November 2022. We are still in the early stages of what promises to be a new technological revolution that will completely transform the audiovisual sector.

In this fascinating cross between art and algorithms, we remember the words of Arthur C. Clarke: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". And there is a reason why there is always talk of "the magic of cinema".

Innovation will always be ahead of our inertia as human beings, so it is normal for there to be tensions at the beginning of any paradigm shift. It is only necessary to remember that the 1982 classic Tron, a pioneer in the use of CGI (Computer Generated Images), could not be nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects because the Film Academy considered that “using a computer is cheating”.

In a year in which we have had these historic strikes in the audiovisual sector with a great focus on the impact of AI, we have been able to witness the first commercial applications of this technology, not exempt from ethical considerations and legal problems.

In this sense, a clear AI regulation positioned in favor of human workers is completely necessary, to adapt to this new paradigm just as we adapted more than 15 years ago to the arrival of streaming platforms and 100% digital content. The revolution, soon in the best cinemas.

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