Fox News host Harris Faulkner had some curious ideas about the possibilities for so-called “artificial intelligence” during a discussion of the newly declared actors’ strike on Friday’s episode of “Outnumbered.”
Faulkner suggested actors should embrace AI because, as she sees it, the technology can, apparently, perform almost magical feats, like solving crimes or at least identifying criminals.
“I challenge [actors/writers] to come up with a way to be symbiotic with artificial intelligence,” Faulkner said. “Maybe it can enhance the moviegoing experience. Maybe it can clean up the ‘casting couch,’ maybe it can do all sorts of things by identifying people who are doing bad things in Hollywood. I mean, we can uncover it, and cover it in the news.”
While sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood — which includes being pressured to trade sex for jobs, aka “casting couch” — is historically a widespread problem in the entertainment industry (and in Media), it’s not entirely clear how Faulkner believed “AI” could “clean up” the problem or identify wrongdoers.
In thinking that it could though, she’s hardly alone, due to misconceptions about what “artificial intelligence” even is. The software isn’t actually intelligent or self aware. These programs are essentially algorithmic search engines that can collect, organize and then re-transmit information in a manner that mimics humans. Read more about it here.
While Faulkner added that the strike isn’t just over AI, she acknowledges that the matter is very-much centered on the legal use of someone’s image and likeness.
“I think the bigger issue here is that A.I. is going to use their images whenever they want. The question then becomes who belongs to that face on the screen? The person behind the face or the people who captured it for A.I.” Faulkner said. “I foresaw this happening already because you have people who need lines, people who write lines and nobody is going to cross the picket lines at this point because they need each other.”
At the end of the Faulkner implied AI impacting an actor’s career will be a matter of the conditions talents lay out in their contractual agreements.
“They’ve got to step up and move forward with the technology,” Faulkner explained. “It is about images and who owns your image. Those are contract negotiations, and they better get better at it.”
SAG-AFTRA went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday, following the break down of negotiations with the AMPTP over a new contract, joining the Writers Guild of America (WGA), which has been on strike since May 2. It’s the first double strike in Hollywood since 1960.