The Robots Coming for Hollywood Labor
With android arms and humanoids able to complete precise tasks, physical production could be replaced long before writers and directors
Erik Barmack writes every other Tuesday for paid subscribers. He recently analyzed AI storyboarding tools in pitching scripts, whether Hollywood should take AI money, and produced a three-part series that covered how AI tools are threatening exec and dev jobs; encroaching on casting, pre-production budgeting and script coverage; and can tell you if a Netflix exec will like your pitch.
Elon Musk recently brought a terrifying new world to Hollywood, and I’m not talking about his recent government exploits. Last month on the Warner Bros. lot, the heart of traditional filmmaking, Musk unveiled the latest versions of his Optimus Robot, an AI-enabled device that was pouring beer, interacting with guests and being remarkably . . . human.
One guest asked the Tesla bot, “What is the hardest thing about being a robot?” and the bot responded: “Trying to learn how to be as human as you guys are.” Yikes. What sounded like a throwaway line from Sleeper made a big impression. People on social media were intrigued — and terrified — with one user aptly commenting: “This is how the movie starts.”
Which movie? No clue. But I’m guessing it was dystopic and don’t think it ends with the robots satisfying Hollywood in a kind of peaceful equilibrium.
Like some of Musk’s promises, the Optimus robot was too good to be true. It was later revealed that these robots were controlled by humans from afar, Wizard of Oz style. But watching the footage from that event — along with a lot of other videos of humanoid bots in action, some of which I’ll share below — I can’t help but imagine that one day, those robots will be on sets operating cameras and running craft services. Hollywood crew members better hope Optimus is still teleoperated and not AI: At least then they’ll still have jobs, albeit in a call center directing their replacements.
Listen to any Silicon Valley tech bros, and they’re as excited about robotics and AI converging as they are about the proposed “billionaire’s brawl” cage match proposed between Zuck and Musk. Robotics startups have pulled in more than $4.2 billion in funding this year alone to realize this vision of workplace humanoids. As with AI itself, the technology that would support AI-enabled robots is advancing rapidly.
In the two years of the generative AI era, Hollywood’s focus has been on AI coming for intellectual work, from screenwriting to editors to VFX artists. While those concerns have some merit, no one has fully considered whether robots could replace the blue-collar workers of Hollywood, too. We’d still have movies made the “traditional” way but on sets built and run mostly by bots.
Is your mind blown yet? Well, just wait. In this issue, you’ll learn:
Which owner of a Hollywood studio and streamer has invested heavily in humanoid robots
The impact these robots will have on IATSE members and crews
The dilemma these new tools will present to directors and writers
How robots have already been used in Hollywood for years
Why AI-enabled robots represent a significant advancement
What this all means for the future of Hollywood sets and the cost of production
The laws of robot morality that should guide our ethical conversations around the use of these robots
The Robots Are . . . Already Here
This column is for paid subscribers only. Interested in a group sub for your team or company? Click here.
For full access and to continue reading all Ankler content, paid subscribers can click here.
Erik Barmack is a working producer and the founder of Wild Sheep Content. He also runs a news site dedicated to AI in the entertainment industry called AI in Hollywood. Jocelyn Wexler contributed additional research to this piece.
 | A guest post by
|
The title is off.
Ai robotics is coming for overpaid labor. The market is unsustainable.
Hollywood, from 1912 to about 2012, existed by force. They lobbied US and state governments to legally extend copyright to infinity, and they snuck in anti-worker laws under the guise of "unions" in order to legally strip the supply of labor to increase their value. In both cases, bad laws actually infringed on the freedoms of millions, hundreds of millions., who wanted to tell story -- but weren't allowed unless they did it with the acceptance and support of the big production companies.
2012 that all changed: YouTube kicked the door in, and Hollywood labor laughed and laughed. They are still kinda laughing, but oh how the times have changed.
Today, if you have an iPhone ($400 used) and an idea, you can put a story together AND GET IT SEEN. There's no gatekeeper. The heavy labor forces are powerless because all they want to do is join hands with the blue haired legbeards and tell stories to guilt audiences -- but audiences want diverse stories outside of the "I have two dads" plots.
Ai is coming to HELP hundreds of MILLIONS of creators make content. Ai robots will push the overpaid, legally supply-limited forces out.
Let's quote a bit:
"Which owner of a Hollywood studio and streamer has invested heavily in humanoid robots" -- who cares? Hollywood studios are out of money, and the public union pensions can't risk anymore to invest in pro-DEI crap that doesn't pay a profit.
"The impact these robots will have on IATSE members and crews" -- but totally ignore the hundreds of millions of creators who have stories to tell and voices to speak???
"The dilemma these new tools will present to directors and writers" -- guild directors and writers who artificially limited the entry into the field? Why would we care AT ALL about them?
"How robots have already been used in Hollywood for years" -- to enhance efficiency to tell more stories and hire more people.
"Why AI-enabled robots represent a significant advancement" -- this is true, and a good advancement!
"What this all means for the future of Hollywood sets and the cost of production" -- nobody cares about Hollywood except the same folks who used it against the rest of the creators in the world?
The cost of production will FALL, but more labor will be hired since more people will afford becoming producers.
"The laws of robot morality that should guide our ethical conversations around the use of these robots" GTFO of here with ethics and morality. Hollywood thrived for 100 years on immoral and unethical actions just to get in the door. I know folks who were PAs who quid pro quo'd themselves into being strong creators in the field and all of them admit to the immoral and unethical things they had to do to get there -- admit in private, of course.
Ai is coming, and it's coming to force the monopolists and gatekeepers to live in their cars. And nobody outside of Hollywood will cry, except for your bought Senators and Congresspeople who won't get their gold coin anymore.