Netflix Lists $900,000 AI Job Amidst Hollywood’s Strike for AI Regulations

Hollywood is witnessing a rare strike as actors and writers unions unite for better wages and regulations on studios’ use of artificial intelligence.

Amidst this, companies like Netflix are making significant investments in AI programs, with one job posting offering a jaw-dropping $900,000 salary for an AI product manager (via The Intercept).

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade association representing TV and film companies negotiating with the unions, proposed an AI proposal to protect actors’ digital likenesses.

This move came right after the actors’ strike was authorized, which evoked comparisons to a “Black Mirror” episode depicting the dystopian consequences of exploiting actors’ scanned digital likenesses.

Actor Rob Delaney, who played a role in the “Black Mirror” episode, criticized the huge budget allocated for an “AI army” while actors struggle with lower earnings. One of the key demands from striking actors is protection against their scanned likeness being manipulated by AI without appropriate compensation.

Writers represented by the Writers Guild of America are also on strike, seeking labor safeguards against AI replacing their work. They want to ensure that AI programs like ChatGPT are not credited with writing screenplays.

Meanwhile, Netflix’s $900,000-a-year AI product manager job posting reveals the company’s extensive involvement with AI.

The company’s research and development tech lab for its gaming studio is also seeking a technical director for generative AI, a type of AI that can produce text, images, and videos from input data.

Netflix has already implemented AI technology in its Spanish reality dating series, “Deep Fake Love,” using AI-generated “deepfake” simulations of contestants.

Additionally, the company’s machine learning platform, initially used for recommendations, has now expanded its role into content creation.