In TV and film production, extras may be at the greatest risk of AI replacement. I’ve been an extra for almost 4 years, and I think AI replacement could be a good thing.

How AI Is Changing Acting

AI is a huge sticking point in the current SAG-AFTRA and writers strike.

For several years, movies and TV shows have scanned extras, also known as background actors. Those images can be used to make AI avatars.

From a new NPR report:

One of most controversial uses of AI in Hollywood is digital cloning. Voices, faces and entire bodies can now be digitally re-created in ways that appear stunningly realistic.

Background actors in Hollywood say they worry they will be first in the industry made obsolete by AI.

What Being an Extra Is Really Like

I started doing extra work as a hobby back in 2019. It’s a great way to get out of the house, have fun, and be a part of your favorite shows!

We extras do basically what you think we do. We walk back and forth in a scene, sit there, move here.

If you can show up on time and do what you’re told, you can be an extra. Though the days can be long, God knows it’s not hard work.

The simple movements we make, like walking through a scene, should be easy for AI to replicate. Convincingly replicating facial expressions will be harder, but there is not much emphasis on our facial expressions anyhow.

I expect that within the next 5 to 10 years, most extra work will be automated.

One Door Closes, Another Opens

While it’s unfortunate to lose a fun hobby, let’s look at the bright side. AI avatars create incredible new possibilities for all of us.

Say you have an awesome idea for a movie. Can you afford to make it?

With all the costs of cameras, lighting, cast and crew, the answer is probably not. But if you could generate it with AI prompts, anyone could make the movie they imagine.

I’ve always wanted to make a movie called Elba.

It would begin with Napoleon on the beach of the eponymous island, in exile. We’d watch him form an army, return to France, and conquer it once again, the most unlikely of victors.

Elba would end with Napoleon back on a deserted beach, this time in St. Helena. His revolution has failed and he will never leave this desolate place.

I’d love to make that movie. But with the costs and time involved, I’m not going to.

Unless…

What if I could spin up a script and then an entire movie with a series of prompts? If it turns out well, I could put it on YouTube.

Elba could go viral. I would have an even more fulfilling creative outlet than background acting — and might make a whole lot more money too!

AI closes some doors, but it opens so many more.

But SAG Has a Point…

For some extras, the work is their entire living. In the near future, that may not be viable.

Not to worry — US unemployment is near record lows, and most other jobs pay better with fewer hours!

And who knows, maybe they’ll make an awesome AI movie too.

While I’m thrilled by AI, I also think studios need to be reasonable here.

You can’t ask people to give up their likeness forever in exchange for peanuts. Actors should have control over how and if their image is used.

Until the studios agree to that, SAG is right to continue its strike.

Wrap-Up

Let’s look at AI as an opportunity, not a threat. With massive compute power on our side, we can accomplish stuff we never thought was possible.

What do you think AI will mean for jobs? Leave a comment and let us know!

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