3 ms·

You know, going on strike because of the threat of automation always struck me as a rather flawed tactic. It not only acknowledges the alternative as equal-to-s

You know, going on strike because of the threat of automation always struck me as a rather flawed tactic. It not only acknowledges the alternative as equal-to-superior but shoves them into their arms of their rivals. Before it might have been a risk that they would have been reluctant to take and would back out of after the first box office bomb. Now they are getting forced into considering the automated approach. It is ironically pretty unemphatic on the part of the workers. The empathic question is "What did you think they would do in response to their actions?".

lazystar 3y ago
The situation reminds me of the time taxi workers went on strike to protest uber. When union leaders dont understand the product their trade actually sells, the results of a strike can be disastrous.
basq 3y ago
I have a sneaking suspicion that the 'striking because of AI' is a coopted narrative and not the actual cause of the strike. Strikes tend to occur because of infringement on worker's rights. Framing it as resistance to automation seems, to me at least, that it's to undermine the intent and confuse the goals and desired outcome. This is just speculation and I could be wrong, I'm just going off of american cultures disdain for the working class and how private organizations endeavor to jeopardize parity for it.
- jfengel 3y ago
  AI is a real consideration, but it attracts disproportionate attention. The real issue is, as always, money. Studios used to get away with paying less for streaming content in its early days. Now that it's very successful it's time to establish real rates. There's also an argument about "mini rooms", where they hire fewer writers to work on a project. That's also partly an AI thing: they're afraid of the studios getting AI to do the first draft, and then hire (fewer) writers to make it not suck. A lot of this ultimately cuts to the concept of unions in general. Studios can always get somebody to do mediocre work for cheap. That threat cuts into the earning power of those who can do better work. There is a strike because studios think they can hold out longer than the writers can.

lazystar 3y ago

The situation reminds me of the time taxi workers went on strike to protest uber. When union leaders dont understand the product their trade actually sells, the results of a strike can be disastrous.

basq 3y ago

I have a sneaking suspicion that the 'striking because of AI' is a coopted narrative and not the actual cause of the strike. Strikes tend to occur because of infringement on worker's rights. Framing it as resistance to automation seems, to me at least, that it's to undermine the intent and confuse the goals and desired outcome. This is just speculation and I could be wrong, I'm just going off of american cultures disdain for the working class and how private organizations endeavor to jeopardize parity for it.

jfengel 3y ago
AI is a real consideration, but it attracts disproportionate attention. The real issue is, as always, money. Studios used to get away with paying less for streaming content in its early days. Now that it's very successful it's time to establish real rates. There's also an argument about "mini rooms", where they hire fewer writers to work on a project. That's also partly an AI thing: they're afraid of the studios getting AI to do the first draft, and then hire (fewer) writers to make it not suck. A lot of this ultimately cuts to the concept of unions in general. Studios can always get somebody to do mediocre work for cheap. That threat cuts into the earning power of those who can do better work. There is a strike because studios think they can hold out longer than the writers can.