The second post should reflect on your current research/work in progress for your individual video project. What are some potential ideas/topics you’d like to cover in your video explainer (e.g., if your video is about recommender algorithms, do you have a case study or example you want to include?) Make connections between your research and things you have encountered and observed in your own media engagement (e.g., have you read some research about social media algorithms that you can connect to your own social media use?)

At the moment, the topic for my video explainer revolves around art and AI, more specifically, what does the rise of AI and automation mean for creative industries? I had originally planned to focus the explainer video more so on film and television, but in my video explainer proposal, I discussed a lot about graphic design and how companies may see AI as a cheaper, quicker, and more efficient option when it comes to any artistic content a business might need. I still have some more research to do, as I would like to still include discussions about AI in film and television as well as design and physical art. Some case studies include the use of AI in script writing for television. I would like to discuss the Writers Guild of America Strike in 2023, when script writers went on strike to protest the use of A in screenwriting. Writers had major concerns that AI was being used to replace them and protested against studios using AI instead of them, which would cut their wages and violate their creative rights, especially if the studios decide to use AI to edit or change work written by a human. After researching this strike, I’m very keen to discuss more about it in the explainer video, as it was such a significant development in the rise of AI and automation for the creative industries. The writers won the battle and were given new terms that would protect their creative rights and wages against AI services that threatened them. An economist at MIT, Simon Johnson, states the new terms are a “fantastic win for writers”.  A key takeaway I learned after researching the terms was that AI is under the control of writers to use it how they please, including to help them write or edit scripts. AI is not under the control of the studios who could take advantage of it to reduce the wages and creativity of writers.

Anguiano D and Beckett L (2023) How Hollywood writers triumphed over AI – and why it matters, The Guardian, accessed on 29 August 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/oct/01/hollywood-writers-strike-artificial-intelligence