I did have another post I was going to put on my blog, however, since this came up while I was in the process of polishing said post, I suppose I will have to post it later.
I am sure many, if not all of you, are aware of the writers’ and actors’ strikes. I am also sure you are wondering why I am mentioning Netflix in particular, since they are not the only ones posing problems. Let me link you to some news articles and I think you’ll see why.
https://nofilmschool.com/squid-game-residuals
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66332876
https://nofilmschool.com/ai-netflix
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66289583
Netflix is avoiding paying creatives for their work. How the company is getting away with this behavior is beyond me. If work is done there should be payment, and it should be a livable wage, not a wage that pushes someone closer and closer to needing welfare.
The situation is starting to feel as though it’s right out of that Dr. Who episode “Kerblam!” with Jodie Whittaker, where a selling point was that in a place where jobs are almost all automated, one company was dedicated to be 10% organic (meaning human.) Do we really want that future?
This movement of Netflix and Disney where scenes are made by A.I. puts creatives out of a job. There are short films being made with A.I. If this continues, it means that no creative will be able to make a living off of their creativity. The only jobs in the entertainment industry will be serving the machine. Writers, actors, makeup artists, costume designers, set creators, lighting experts, practical effects artists, and everyone in between, will find that they have become obsolete, or at least, their value reduced so greatly that their work can only be called a hobby, costing them more money than they could ever make.
This post is shorter than some of my others and that is because this is more to give a basic concept, supporting articles, and a call to action. As I have accomplished the first two, let us move on to the last.
There is only one way for average people to affect this situation. You will see this mentioned in the future in another post I am writing, with a more in depth discussion of A.I., in which I attempt to discuss whether A.I. is all bad, or has a potential for harm as well as good.
This method of saving the creative world, is boycotting. Netflix wants to make creatives a thing of the past? Consumers can let Netflix know that this is unacceptable by refusing to use their services until the situation changes. Follow the money. If sales start dropping dramatically, Netflix and other companies will start getting the idea.
Write letters of complaint, stating that services will not be used until the situation is rectified. This will make the reason for the drop in profits perfectly clear.
Now, it will not be enough if only my readers take this action. There must be a large number of consumers making this point to the companies. Therefore, I ask all of my readers, please, for the sake of the creative future, pass this blog post on to everyone you can, and ask them to seriously consider the call to action. Make this blog post, and the posts I linked to, go viral. That in itself will make an impression, but remember, we must also back our stance with our money by not giving our money to those who would strangle the creative life out of the world. Insist that the voices of creatives be heard over the ever louder hum of A.I.
I want to make it clear that I am not looking for likes or subscribers with this post. The point is to bring a situation and possible solutions to the attention of the general population, hoping that society will choose to take action and save the creative world and our economy. Instead of liking or subscribing, write a letter to Netflix and email this post to your friends and family. Post links to this article on various platforms. We have the power to make a difference, but only if we exercise it.
Here I will give my closing plea: anyone who has lost their job to A.I., anyone who fears for their children’s ability to obtain a job in the future, anyone who fears for their job in this current state of affairs, any creative, fight for creative rights, so that we can all enjoy the wonder.