[AI Impacting Popular Culture] ② Terminator Becomes Reality... AI Threatening Jobs

Threatened Jobs in the AI Era
Strikes in US and Japanese Entertainment Industries... Crisis or Opportunity?
"Actors and Writers Losing Positions, New Talent Discovery Difficult"
"Using AI Tools Could Be a Great Opportunity"

Editor's NoteThe popular culture industry is actively utilizing AI (artificial intelligence) technology. The advantages include cost reduction and abundant video production. It can also resolve difficulties in filming child actors or animals. On the other hand, as the popular culture industry increasingly adopts AI technology, celebrities are more vulnerable to illegal advertisements using deepfakes or voice phishing. How far has AI technology permeated the popular culture industry today? We take a closer look at the current status of AI technology utilization, its development potential, and institutional improvements needed.

[Image source=Pixabay]

The United States, which values practicality, has actively welcomed artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Renowned masters are diversely utilizing AI in production to save time and costs. However, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild?American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) simultaneously went on strike last year for the first time in 63 years. They feared that AI would take away jobs from Hollywood actors and writers, potentially eroding the entire industry.

"Rising AI, Guarantee Workers' Rights" Industry Backlash

In major countries, there is concern that AI threatens jobs in the popular culture industry. The American writers' and actors' unions demanded increased residual payments and base salaries, as well as rights protection amid AI expansion. Writers urged the establishment of safeguards to prevent script generation using generative AI. Additionally, reflecting the job insecurity caused by AI, they called for strengthened medical and pension insurance and improvements to unfair audition practices.

Japanese entertainment industry workers held a press conference urging the government to establish policies mandating disclosure of the data sources used when AI generates content, and demanded legal reforms and environmental improvements to protect their rights. Beyond actors, writers, and directors, other production-related professionals such as visual effects experts, editors, and special makeup artists may also face job impacts from AI in the future. Industry consensus is that freelance workers are also at risk, as deep voice technology replaces voice actors.

[Photo by AP·Yonhap News]

Generative AI Market Worth 920 Trillion Won... Digital Content Jobs Impacted

Job losses due to AI are actually occurring. According to last year's U.S. Challenger job cut report, U.S. companies reduced about 80,000 employees, with 5% (3,900 people) attributed to AI. Goldman Sachs in the U.S. projected that generative AI will create a market worth 920 trillion won over the next decade. Their research report predicted that "AI will replace 300 million jobs worldwide."

Jobs requiring social skills that AI finds difficult to imitate include writers, theater/film/video experts, social welfare workers, and professional services (research, education, culture, arts, etc.), but the desperation is palpable in the sight of American and Japanese actors and writers striking and picketing for the first time in 60 years. In U.S. academia, it is forecasted that by next year, over 90% of cultural content production will be assisted by or based on AI technology.

Concerns about AI potentially replacing a significant portion of jobs in the popular culture industry are also emerging domestically. According to the Bank of Korea's report "AI and Labor Market Changes" released in November last year, 3.41 million jobs are expected to be highly susceptible to AI replacement over the next 20 years. In statistics on "AI technology and service usage rates by industry," the "arts and sports services" sector accounted for 21.1%. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT's "Digital Deep Response Status Diagnosis" statistics released in December last year, the most concerning issue in the digital deep era was "guaranteeing platform workers' rights" (43.3% of responses).

"Shrinking Space" vs "Opportunity to Utilize as a Tool"

Kim Heonsik, a popular culture critic, pointed out, "If child actors are created using AI technology and AI actors emerge in the future, opportunities to discover new faces may decrease and famous actors might disappear. The same applies to writers. If initial scripting is done by AI, the growth of creators could be interrupted." He added, "AI that learns existing data to create certain patterns is different in nature from human creativity. AI has clear limitations. AI can reduce initial costs and time but cannot handle high-level tasks. Detailed discussions from the perspectives of industry, creators, and consumers are needed."

There is also a perspective that if AI technology is well utilized, it could be an "opportunity" leveraging the advantage of capital savings. Shin Cheol, executive director of the Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival, said, "Humanity has always been wary of new technologies. When automobiles were introduced to the public 120 years ago, the carriage industry collapsed, but new jobs in automobile manufacturing, repair, and transportation were created. The introduction of the internet reduced retail jobs but created millions of jobs in e-commerce, web development, and digital marketing."

Executive Director Shin said, "AI cannot replace all creative processes and will only serve as a tool," and forecasted, "The important thing is how it is utilized, and AI will provide more creators with opportunities to participate in film and video production."