The entertainment industry experiences AI on two fronts: as a powerful tool for distribution and production, and as a perceived threat to creative jobs. Both came to a head in 2023, when Hollywood writers and actors went on strike with AI among the central issues.

Recommendations: the original AI in streaming

Streaming services rely heavily on recommendation algorithms to decide what each viewer sees. Netflix has described how its recommender system — personalizing rows, rankings and even artwork — is central to keeping subscribers engaged; a 2015 paper by Netflix executives Carlos Gomez-Uribe and Neil Hunt discussed the algorithms and their business value. Personalization also shapes which titles succeed and how content investments are evaluated.

AI in production and post-production

Studios and production companies use AI for:

  • visual effects: rotoscoping, cleanup, de-aging, crowd generation and compositing;
  • localization: subtitles, translation and AI-assisted dubbing, including adjusting lip movements;
  • audio: dialogue cleanup and restoration;
  • previsualization: quickly visualizing scenes and storyboards;
  • editing assistance: organizing footage, finding shots and creating rough cuts;
  • marketing: trailers, thumbnails and promotional variations.

See our coverage of AI in film and video production for more.

The 2023 strikes and AI

In 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA both struck against the major studios. AI was a key issue alongside pay and streaming residuals.

  • The WGA agreement established that AI cannot write or rewrite literary material, AI-generated material cannot be considered source material that undermines writers’ credit, writers can choose to use AI tools if the company consents but cannot be required to, and companies must disclose if material given to writers was AI-generated.
  • The SAG-AFTRA agreement included requirements for informed consent and compensation for creating and using digital replicas of performers, and for using synthetic performers in certain ways.

These contracts became reference points for creative industries worldwide.

Ongoing tensions

  • Training data: studios, artists and unions contest the use of copyrighted films, scripts and performances to train AI models.
  • Voice and likeness: laws in several US states and other countries increasingly protect people against unauthorized digital replicas of their voice and likeness.
  • Jobs in post-production, VFX and dubbing may change most quickly.
  • AI-generated content on platforms competes for viewers’ attention.

Opportunities

Lower costs could enable more independent productions, faster localization can bring content to more audiences, and new interactive formats are emerging. The question is how benefits and protections are shared.

What changes for viewers

  • More languages: AI-assisted subtitles and dubbing can make films and series available in more languages faster.
  • Restored archives: AI tools help restore and upscale older films and recordings.
  • Personalized discovery: recommendations, previews and artwork tailored to viewing history.
  • New formats: interactive and personalized content experiments.
  • Synthetic media questions: viewers may increasingly ask whether a voice, face or scene is real, which makes clear labelling and provenance important.

AI video generation and studios

Text-to-video models have improved rapidly, producing short, high-quality clips from prompts. Studios and production companies are testing them for previsualization, backgrounds, effects shots and marketing material, while weighing legal risks around training data and union agreements. Some studios have signed partnerships with AI video companies, while others have joined lawsuits over the use of their characters and films in training data.

What to watch next

  • Future guild negotiations expanding AI provisions.
  • Laws protecting voice and likeness against digital replicas.
  • AI dubbing adoption on major streaming platforms.
  • Studio deals with AI video companies.

Key takeaways

  • Recommendation systems are central to streaming platforms’ business.
  • AI is used in VFX, localization, audio, previsualization, editing and marketing.
  • The 2023 WGA agreement limits AI’s role in writing and protects writers’ credit.
  • SAG-AFTRA secured consent and compensation rules for digital replicas.
  • Training data, likeness rights and post-production jobs remain contested.

Frequently asked questions

Can studios use AI to write scripts?

Under the 2023 WGA agreement, AI-generated material cannot be considered literary material written by a writer, and writers cannot be required to use AI. Terms apply to companies covered by the agreement.

What is a digital replica?

A computer-generated representation of a performer’s voice or likeness, created with AI or other technologies.

Does AI dubbing replace voice actors?

It is used in some localization work, raising concerns among voice actors. Union agreements and laws increasingly require consent and compensation.