Here’s the thing: as soon as the phrase “machine learning” was on the table, any human being with a brain should have been so freaked out that they smashed all of their electronic devices with a hammer. We weren’t, and we didn’t, and now here we are: the beginning of the actual era where, to paraphrase an Instagram post, we somehow live in a world where people are grinding out thankless jobs for low pay, while computers are relaxing and making art.
Over in Hollywood, the Writer’s Guild of America is on strike. I wish I could be with them! If they’re still picketing come July, I might swing through and hold up some signs! One of the things they’re striking over is the role of A.I. in union productions, and whereas my version of the demands would be “no A.I. of any kind on any union production, in any role, ever,” theirs aren’t bad. This is a genuine “line in the sand” moment for the whole history of the arts industry (yup! Not just film! And hey, right behind it, not just the arts!), and this is not a moment to make concessions. As soon as script ideas, assembly cuts, previz, or who knows what the fuck else can be “drafted” by A.I., capitalism will do exactly what capitalism is designed to do: fuck literally everybody who isn’t in the top 1%.
Coupla thoughts:
1/ So you’re telling me we’re supposed to earn a living because capitalism is good and communism is bad but also you are going to take our jobs away but universal basic income is still bad?
2/ I have chosen a truly spectacular moment to make my living as a writer.
That’s one of my ambitions, anyway. I resigned from my job last month to better manage my anxiety and depression, which proved impossible in my (then) work environment. But as soon as I was out, the pandemic of it all, plus the midlife of it all, slapped themselves around me like a couple of pieces of bread, with me as the sandwich meat. What do I want the rest of my time here to look like, actually? I’ll earn a living as I have to, cuz see above re: capitalism. But boy, it sure would be nice if as much of that time could be spent writing as possible.
So here I am, recovering from the worst complex anxiety spiral I’ve suffered since 2015, and I’m doing it by feeling my way through a personal novella that feels as much like writing a dream as it does writing fiction; and I’m back-burnering (but still contemplating) a true crime screenplay that may or may not be about the pandemic and the destruction of social reality; and, yeah, I wrote a Star Wars script, but have no idea what to do with it. It’s a lot of a lot — a big weird rambling mess — but it feels more like fresh air than anything I’ve breathed in, at least, three years and three months.
ITEMS!:
- Drew McWeeny’s substack is always a good read but his most recent is a real banger, re: this industry mess we’re in.
- Or hey, if you want to go even darker with it, here’s Jacob Oller’s piece on Paste. I think nailing the issue to “IP” is one step shy (the issue, always always always, is that capitalism still exists), but, it’s a good read.
- If you, like me, think it’s time to not be at your job no more, I have to say that the Work Appropriate podcast has been a consistently valuable resource for the past several months. Among other things — given that self-diagnosis in some types of roles can be a bit gaslight-y — it’s nice to know I wasn’t alone!