Netflix AI Manager Annual Salary 1.2 Billion Won... Actors and Writers "Are Upset"

Striking Writers and Actors Union Push Back
"It's Horrible to Give That Salary to One Person"

Video streaming company Netflix announced that it would pay up to approximately 1.16 billion KRW in annual salary to an artificial intelligence (AI) product manager, prompting backlash from Hollywood actors and writers currently on strike.

[Photo by Pixabay]

On the 27th (local time), Netflix posted a job listing for a "Machine Learning Product Manager."

According to the announcement, Netflix stated that it is creating a product management role "to increase the utilization of the machine learning platform (MLP) that supports AI practitioners in easily developing, deploying, and improving related models."

The position reportedly requires a high level of technical understanding to collaborate closely with engineers and machine learning practitioners, as well as strategic thinking skills to integrate a broader business context into product development.

Netflix offered a high salary range of $300,000 to $900,000 (approximately 380 million to 1.16 billion KRW) for this role, drawing criticism from Hollywood actors and writers currently on strike.

Drama writer Elizabeth Benjamin wrote on social media, "In response to actors' AI concerns, Netflix posted a high-paying AI job listing," adding, "Seeing this makes me sick."

Additionally, Rob Delaney, an actor who appeared in the Netflix series "Black Mirror," told local media The Intercept, "An income of $900,000 a year could cover the health insurance of 35 actors and their families under the Screen Actors Guild?American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)," and said, "It's horrifying that one person in the AI department is given that amount."

Meanwhile, the two major Hollywood unions, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA, are engaged in a large-scale joint strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Both unions are concerned that actors' faces and voices could be replaced by AI, and that AI could write scripts, potentially infringing on the unique rights of actors and writers.