Here is the headline from an article:
Ashton Kutcher Says AI Will Make Movies Better—Hollywood Disagrees
This might be a bit of clickbait. Also, it is not clear from the article exactly what Kutcher said. There does appear to be some backtracking from the interview which cannot be seen since it is now private on YouTube.
The star of “Dude, Where’s My Car?” responded to the backlash, saying that AI won't replace the arts, but “acting like it doesn't exist will be catastrophic.”
This was evidently in response to the replace that he received. In the article, there were a number of responses. While I am not a fan of Kutcher, it is sad he has to take such shots from those who are clueless.
Why do I call them clueless?
These people are self-important fools who believe in their own "press clippings". We see this all the time with people when it comes to technology. It is easy to believe we are unreplaceable and what we do is so unique.
For the majority, that simply is not the case.
These People Are Cooked
To Kutcher's credit, from what I could gather, the guy is fairly sharp when it comes to technology. He does invest in it a great deal in technology, having started a venture capital firm in 2010. This means he not only stays abreast of what is going on, he puts money into different technologies.
When it comes to AI, he started a fund that raised $243 million in 2023.
The point is he is not completely awash of technology and the pace of change. In fact, I would say that he likely has a fairly decent grasp on it.
Of course, there is this tidbit:
Kutcher's comments came during an on-stage conversation with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt at the Berggruen Institute, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based think tank last week. A video excerpt from the exchange has since been set to private and is no longer visible on YouTube.
Are you kidding me? The backlash is against a guy who was sharing a stage with Eric Schmidt. While it is easy to not be a fan of Schmidt's he is another one who knows his stuff. In fact, when it comes to the "under the hood" AI stuff, there are few who had access to more of the inner workings than the guy who was CEO over Deepmind.
Here is what caused some of the uproar.
“Why would you go out and shoot an establishing shot of a house in a television show when you could just create the establishing shot for $100? To go out and shoot it would cost you thousands of dollars,” Kutcher said, according to a report by Variety. “Action scenes of me jumping off of this building, you don’t have to have a stunt person go do it, you could just go do it.”
He is absolutely correct. We have seen what Sora can do, which has blown many people away. Like most of AI, whatever the version is today, it is the worst it will ever be. It will only get better from here.
As if that wasn't bad enough, we get this from a Chinese company.
@taskmaster4450le/re-leothreads-j3egphr5
This is only a couple months after the video of Sora was released. times are moving ahead quickly.
Disrupt or Get Disrupted
The mindset is best summed up by this:
Many critics pointed out that Kutcher is co-founder of an investment fund focused on AI, and that his comments clearly support the disruptive technology and not the industry being disrupted.
Yeah, well no kidding.
Instead of turning it into a political or popularity contest, perhaps these people should realize that support for those who are being disrupted is moronic. There is nothing to do to save you.
Were the buggy whip manufacturers supported by those who invested in the automobile? How about the roadside inn as interstate highways were being built?
Of course, none of that registers.
The strike lasted over six months before contract negotiations were resolved in September. "In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes 'above-pattern' minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI," SAG-AFTRA wrote on Twitter.
Yeah, that worked out well.
“I’m Scared”: Why It’s a Brutal Time to Be a TV writer
The end of Peak TV has ushered in an era of contraction, with fewer buyers (farewell, The CW) and fierce competition for the few shows that are staffing: "People are in total survival mode."
It seemed a few benefited from the increase wages while many are now out of work.
You either understand technology and its impact or you are clueless as to what is taking place in the world. This is simply another example.
Kutcher simply told these people how it is and they attacked him.
They are also the same people who went on strike, or are talking about it, as their industry is in decline and being completely disrupted.