What are your thoughts on the writers strike?

5/3/2023 12:33:45 PM

I've got a backlog, and plenty of things that deserve a rerun. Bring it on.

5/3/2023 12:37:25 PM

think this sums it up perfectly:

https://twitter.com/sammorril/status/1653404187055587330?s=46

Quote :

"Writers deserve more respect. People worship actors, but they’re nothing without writers. Writing is harder than acting. There are child actors. There are no child writers."

5/3/2023 12:49:25 PM

With the steady march of AI in a hyper-capitalist society, seems like a good way to accelerate the perception of your ability to be easily replaced in the eyes of those in charge of such things. I like writers, but maybe start polishing up the ol' résumé and boning up on technical skills just in case.

5/3/2023 1:33:51 PM

always great to see a variation of the old, “learn to code” trope

5/3/2023 2:00:19 PM

I'm not a coder, but I did enjoy FORTRAN many years ago. AI can code anyway. History has shown the best policy is to not do anything to adapt in the face of monumental labor market change.

5/3/2023 3:00:10 PM

Quote :

" History has shown the best policy is to not do anything to adapt in the face of monumental labor market change."

why in the world are you saying this in the context of a strike?

5/3/2023 3:03:12 PM

As a follow-up to your false accusation of my employment of the learn to code trope, which itself was a follow-up to my commentary that striking seemed more dangerous than normal for writers right now due to the acceleration of the perception of replaceability of many jobs in the eyes of evil corporate overlords. If you agree with that premise (I don't think you do), then what is the alternative plan to continue earning a living without some re-tooling? I'm not saying I like it. I'd rather watch my shows AND not be replaced by a neural network.

5/3/2023 3:17:44 PM

part of the reason that they’re striking is to get a deal in place that prevents AI from taking anyones job

studios have already lost over a billion in stock value since the strike began

are you advocating that writers do nothing because you think the risk is too high?

5/3/2023 3:34:43 PM

Wanted to see Pete Davidson on snl :/

5/4/2023 12:01:37 AM

^^I'm not seriously advocating anything, as it doesn't affect me. Good luck to them.

5/4/2023 1:44:01 AM

^what tv do you watch?

5/4/2023 2:12:22 AM

Mostly Seinfeld reruns.

NTTAWWT!

5/4/2023 6:29:48 AM

Quote :

"part of the reason that they’re striking is to get a deal in place that prevents AI from taking anyones job"

This tugs at my heartstrings. I'm holding back tears here.

What makes these writers so special over say, IT workers who also stand to lose employment due to AI? Admin assistants? Should everyone who could be impacted just stand up and stop working? What is it that industry leaders always say when technology threatens a specific type of workforce? Train to do something different?

And I guarandamntee you some of these writers have started using AI themselves for ideas. "ChatGPT: give me an idea for the pilot for a Frasier reboot"

The Coz is on the right track here. What do you think executives and producers are going to do during these strikes when writers refuse to work? They're gonna start using AI. And they're going to be like "Well shit, this ain't half bad. Maybe not good enough for the big screen but sure as shit good enough for Netflix."

Then boom. They brought about the very thing they're trying to avoid.

I know this has been said each time a new tech comes out, but I'm beginning to wonder if there really does need to be some kind of safety net out there. With how advanced robotics are these days, coupled with things like ChatGPT, there are very large segments of the population whose careers are at risk. Can everyone be expected to learn a new skill or trade? Maybe I should have been a plumber.

[Edited on May 4, 2023 at 8:07 AM. Reason : dslafs]

5/4/2023 7:56:05 AM

You can still be a plumber if you want. Even robots aren't lining up to work with pipes full of human shit.

5/4/2023 8:29:21 AM

Automated robots will be able to lay pipe (pause), but will never be able to repair plumbing issues that require critical thinking skills.

5/4/2023 8:36:20 AM

I could, but I don't relish the idea of starting over.

Nor do most people, which is why AI sucks and should've never been let out of pandora's box.

5/4/2023 8:41:53 AM

Quote :

"This tugs at my heartstrings. I'm holding back tears here. What makes these writers so special over say, IT workers who also stand to lose employment due to AI? Admin assistants? Should everyone who could be impacted just stand up and stop working? What is it that industry leaders always say when technology threatens a specific type of workforce? Train to do something different? And I guarandamntee you some of these writers have started using AI themselves for ideas. "ChatGPT: give me an idea for the pilot for a Frasier reboot" The Coz is on the right track here. What do you think executives and producers are going to do during these strikes when writers refuse to work? They're gonna start using AI. And they're going to be like "Well shit, this ain't half bad. Maybe not good enough for the big screen but sure as shit good enough for Netflix." Then boom. They brought about the very thing they're trying to avoid."

[Edited on May 4, 2023 at 11:20 AM. Reason : of course you’re anti-union. of course. ]

5/4/2023 11:14:01 AM

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/snoop-dogg-writers-strike-larry-jackson-panel-1235602434/

Quote :

" Snoop Dogg Shows Solidarity With Writers on Strike: ‘Where the F— Is the Money?’"

5/4/2023 3:00:19 PM

Quote :

"I've got a backlog, and plenty of things that deserve a rerun. Bring it on."

Lol why the oppositional tone tho?

[Edited on May 4, 2023 at 9:29 PM. Reason : You probably hate college sports kids getting paid too]

[Edited on May 4, 2023 at 9:53 PM. Reason : oooooooooh nm it's just because you feel threatened FUCK THE ACTUAL LABOR HERE AM I RIGHT??????]

5/4/2023 9:29:36 PM

Quote :

"Writers deserve more respect. People worship actors, but they’re nothing without writers. Writing is harder than acting. There are child actors. There are no child writers"

It's not writers vs actors tho.

Quote :

"There are dog actors. There are no dog writers."

[Edited on May 4, 2023 at 9:38 PM. Reason : a better argument would be to tweet out the earnings disparity for legacy TV vs streaming]

[Edited on May 4, 2023 at 9:38 PM. Reason : https://www.kunc.org/2023-05-03/why-writers-are-having-a-hard-time-earning-a-living-in-the-streaming]

5/4/2023 9:35:01 PM

Quote :

"This tugs at my heartstrings. I'm holding back tears here."

That's unfortunate.

Quote :

"What makes these writers so special over say, IT workers"

It's not writers vs IT workers either.

Quote :

"What do you think executives and producers are going to do during these strikes when writers refuse to work? They're gonna start using AI. And they're going to be like "Well shit, this ain't half bad. Maybe not good enough for the big screen but sure as shit good enough for Netflix.""

Disagree.

Quote :

"With how advanced robotics are these days, coupled with things like ChatGPT, there are very large segments of the population whose careers are at risk. Can everyone be expected to learn a new skill or trade?"

A tale as old as [industrialized] time

I wildly hate the "appeal to fear" argument but I'm sure you are conditioned to using it due to your specific media consumption habits

Quote :

"I could, but I don't relish the idea of starting over. Nor do most people, which is why AI sucks and should've never been let out of pandora's box."

Perhaps, PERHAPS, there will be other uses for AI than just making you think your skills aren't good enough for employment in this "new world"

5/4/2023 9:52:31 PM

Quote :

"What do you think executives and producers are going to do during these strikes when writers refuse to work?"

They're gonna produce and distribute all the shit they've been sitting on while working out a deal to more fairly pay the writers of said and future shit.

5/4/2023 9:57:29 PM

Quote :

"It's not writers vs actors tho."

that’s not the point that was being made

I’d love for rjrumfel to explain why he’s siding with management over labor

5/4/2023 9:57:59 PM

Quote :

"I’d love for rjrumfel to explain why he’s siding with management over labor"

Because he feels tangentially threatened. It's one of those classic "Tread on Everyone But Me" positions.

Quote :

"that’s not the point that was being made"

5/4/2023 10:11:46 PM

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/cynthia-nixon-illana-grazer-picket-netflix-writers-strike-1235479381/amp/

Quote :

"We need living wages, our basic needs met, and the writing portion of TV and film has been squeezed and squeezed and squeezed over the last few years and it really shouldn’t be surprising to the big studios that the human beings who are creating this content, who are the beating hearts and minds of this behind this art and content want to be treated with basic dignity,” Glazer said. She outlined the mini writers rooms and the potential emergence of AI in scripts as particular concerns. “For us to be creating formula based on stories already told deepens the systems of oppression that brought us here to fight today. As humanity and consciousness move forward, our art must reflect that. And to go backward and have ChatGPT, or whatever the fuck, write stories based on John Wayne or something, I’m like, ‘What are we talking about?’ We have to keep moving forward. This is conservatism, and it’s really directly related to the global threat of fascism that we’re seeing,” Glazer said."

Illana Glazer nailed why rjrumfel is pulling for the corporations

[Edited on May 5, 2023 at 12:34 AM. Reason : .]

5/5/2023 12:33:57 AM

Quote :

"I’d love for rjrumfel to explain why he’s siding with management over labor"

I'm not siding with mgmt. I just think that what they're doing is going to help usher in the very thing they're trying to avoid. I know you guys disagree, but when ChatGPT can pick stocks better than people trained to pick stocks...how long before it really does have the bones to write human stories better than humans?

And music too - pretty soon we won't need song writers. AI will be able to sift through enough data to understand exactly what notes, melodies, phrases and lyrics will comprise a top 100 song.

5/7/2023 12:47:33 AM

AI will fail just like humans fail

[Edited on May 7, 2023 at 12:54 AM. Reason : Not that there’s anything wrong with that]

5/7/2023 12:52:48 AM

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/05/when-the-threat-of-ai-is-an-insult.html

5/8/2023 11:51:16 AM

Is one AI going to sue another AI for copyright infringement? We already know it can pass the bar.

5/8/2023 6:55:08 PM

Hey rjrumfel does any of this make sense to you? - https://www.gq.com/story/writers-strike-2023-wga-explained

or are you just able to do the whole regressive doom and gloom appeal to fear stuff about AI ITT?

5/9/2023 1:23:41 PM

Quote :

"It begins with the words. Nothing happens without them. Sometimes, the writing achieves transcendence, but, in every case, it’s seminal. I got to a give a brilliant speech recently, which not only explicated my and my brother’s characters, it illuminated an entire narrative. This is what great writers do. And they need to be compensated in accordance with their contribution. At the very least, they need to be able to provide for themselves and their families. In this era of corporate greed and union busting, management seems to hold all the cards. Except for the most important ones: Unity; Solidarity; Fraternity. All of us win when the writers win. And we will win. Union! Strike! #wgastrike #UnionStrong #Succession @jessearmstrong1"

- James Cromwell

5/22/2023 10:54:19 PM

5/23/2023 12:09:33 PM

Lol true


Nprs Ari Shapiro (not Ben) and The Wires David Simon

5/23/2023 3:03:21 PM

that framing is super weird from Shapiro

5/23/2023 5:50:05 PM

Plot Twist: That was one of AI's ideas for how transition from scene five to scene six.

5/23/2023 7:42:28 PM

AI won't be able to come up with new ideas, which is good.

What it can do is sift through millions of previously published ideas and throw something together.

Poor romance novelists are fucked. Their stuff is already derivative. Imagine what AI can write for that crowd.

Someone's gonna have to solve the problem of residuals though. And for streamers, that's going to be tough - do they pay on each viewing? I fear that could incentivize Netflix, Amazon, and the like to pull their original programming after a time.

5/24/2023 8:16:31 AM

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/25/1178308448/hbo-max-discovery-credits

5/27/2023 10:35:01 AM

I'm missing seeing James Austin Johnson as Trump on Saturday Night Live (on YouTube on Sunday morning) because of this.

Let's wrap it up!

6/14/2023 12:29:58 PM

you wouldn’t be seeing him until late September regardless of there being a strike or not

6/14/2023 12:55:13 PM

Oh, good call.

Well, let's wrap it up by late September, then. Also miss the weekday late night political commentary / skewering. Oh well.

6/14/2023 1:32:27 PM

https://deadline.com/2023/07/writers-strike-hollywood-studios-deal-fight-wga-actors-1235434335/

Quote :

"Hollywood Studios’ WGA Strike Endgame Is To Let Writers Go Broke Before Resuming Talks In Fall"

Quote :

"“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline. Acknowledging the cold-as-ice approach, several other sources reiterated the statement. One insider called it “a cruel but necessary evil.”"

7/12/2023 1:31:57 AM

Good to have an idea how long you can hold out when considering embarking on something like this.

7/12/2023 10:39:52 PM

SAG is about to strike so wonder if this makes things move or if it makes all sides dig in more.

7/13/2023 7:59:39 AM

Time to revisit the old TV show catalog

7/13/2023 9:27:02 AM

7/13/2023 11:51:47 AM

They all 3 need to find a solution. At the very least want to pause youtube tv until nfl

7/14/2023 10:10:45 PM

Quote :

"Time to revisit the old TV show catalog"

rewatch #1 has started with Deadwood.

if this thing goes on long enough I may see if i can convince my wife to rewatch BSG

7/17/2023 4:41:23 PM

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190336979/actors-strike-residuals-sag-aftra-wga

7/27/2023 1:30:09 PM

I think what Iger makes is gross, but he can't take all the ire....you've got Dwayne Johnson and Tom Cruise pulling in tens of millions of dollars as well. And for shows like The Big Bang, weren't they making like 1 million each per show?

I used to think streaming was going to sock it to the cable companies, but man I'm kind of anti-streaming these days. They put out a lot of garbage, and don't pay their actors for it.

I wonder, have the residuals for regular network TV shows changed any?

7/27/2023 3:18:30 PM