As artificial intelligence (AI) continues its unstoppable rise, creatives who are concerned about its future may be relieved to hear that Netflix’s CEO is of the opinion that “AI is not going to take your job.”
In an extensive interview with The New York Times, the firm’s boss Ted Sarandos stated AI will not replace creative positions. Sarandos has been at the company for 24 years, nearly as long as one of the company’s two founders.
He oversaw the early days of expansion into streaming and Netflix’s powerful algorithm has been honed under his watchful eye.
In light of AI becoming integrated into the workplace in the entertainment industry, he suggested that “writers, directors, editors will use A.I. as a tool to do their jobs better and to do things more efficiently and more effectively.”
When asked whether that would lead to artificial intelligence taking over from creator roles, he said he has “more faith in humans than that.”
He said: “I don’t believe that an AI program is going to write a better screenplay than a great writer, or is going to replace a great performance, or that we won’t be able to tell the difference. AI is not going to take your job. The person who uses AI well might take your job.”
Netflix CEO isn’t worried about AI, but TikTok instead
His reasoning behind this references past changes in technology and the film industry, like when there was a huge leap from hand-drawn animation to computer-generated animation. Sarandos said: “look how many more people animation employs today than it used to.
“Remember how everybody fought home video? For several decades, the studios wouldn’t license movies to television. So every advancement in technology in entertainment has been fought and then ultimately has turned out to grow the business. I don’t know that this would be any different.”
He continued: “Movies and games and television and stand-up comedy – all these things are real art forms. Otherwise, it’s just killing an hour, and then I’d be very worried about TikTok.”
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