philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Daniel Kwan Has a Plan to Tackle AI’s Hollywood Takeover and It Requires “Unprecedented” Action

Daniel Kwan, one half of the Oscar-winning filmmaking duo behind Everything Everywhere All at Once, joined technology futurist Jaron Lanier for a rich discussion presented by Berggruen Institute’s Studio B in West Hollywood on Friday evening. The hourlong conversation centered on a single question — Can human storytelling survive the algorithm? — and the dialogue helped surface many of the hot-button issues facing Hollywood (and humanity) amid the rise (and threat) of artificial intelligence technology. ...

We cannot allow the tech industry to set the terms for our industries.” ...

Instead, Kwan argued that Hollywood as a whole should help set the terms of adoption. To accomplish that will require “unprecedented” action by having every facet of the industry join hands — from studios and agencies to unions and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences — and form a unified front to combat the takeover. Now is the time “to put your hands on the steering wheel, because if you don’t, they will,” he said. ...

“We’re putting a line in the ground against another industry that is an invasive species. We have to basically say, ‘Look, if you want us to adopt your technology into our pipelines, you’re going to have to meet us on our terms, and that means you’re going to have to help us upgrade our institutions.’” ...

Then Kwan turned his attention toward something he said was his most important point: “What are we going to do about deepfakes and misinformation and the stuff that you are polluting our consensus truth with?” ...

“I always say it’s like I’m a tourist in Vanuatu,” Lanier quipped of his trip to Hollywood. “I know it’s about to be underwater, but I just want to enjoy it.” ...

...Kwan offered final (profound) words to close the conversation.

“To learn about [AI] is to basically have to say goodbye to the future you thought was going to happen. And that requires a mourning process. I just want to acknowledge that for some of you this is normal and fine, you’ve heard all this stuff and it’s not a big deal. But for others, this is really hard stuff to handle,” Kwan said. “The fact that Hollywood might not happen [to] exist anymore, the fact that all these institutions might be replaced by something else, we’re saying goodbye to the future, and there’s a little bit of grief in that. Who knows if it’s going to be good? Who knows if it’s going to be bad? But it is fundamentally going to change. Give yourself the space.”

See the full story here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hollywood-ai-battle-filmmaker-daniel-kwan-action-plan-1236330720/