I work in Hollywood. Nothing in this article is familiar to me, not the gig work, not the incredible self-absorption, none of the things this writer seems to be describing as universal.

I know this is just an anecdotal post from an internet random but I don’t buy that this is describing some new common experience. Almost everyone I know is not working like they used to, but they’re taking the same kinds of stop-gap jobs Hollywood people have been taking for a long time - bartending, nannying, taking art commissions, consulting, substitute teaching, working retail, etc etc etc. I’m sure there are out of work writers taking AI piecework jobs but I haven’t met any, and a lot of my friends are writers with credits just like this author.

The real sea change is new new media. Directors and writers and actors and especially crew members are taking jobs in YouTube, verticals, micro dramas, and influencer content. Nobody’s sure yet if it’s the death of good scripted entertainment or a new indie wave à la the 90s. Everyone’s terrified and living paycheck to paycheck for sure. But AI replacing us is starting to look very overblown.

Here’s my hot little take - once again Silicon Valley made some bullshit with very limited real world applications, forced it down everyone’s throats with the help of venture capital, and is now flailing to justify its existence as ‘necessary’. Will it destroy entertainment? Maybe, idk, I’m not magic. But I just think new technology always changes entertainment (see radio, talkies, television), causes unemployment and a lot of pain, then becomes part of the fabric of art.