ITV’s AI Innovation Role — Is AGI Leaving Human Creators Behind?

• ITV is facing backlash for an AI job advert that went viral.
• Britain’s Writers Guild and creatives have spoken out against the broadcaster.
• The British broadcaster is not alone in its AI vision.

A recent job advert from British broadcaster ITV has sparked widespread backlash, particularly from the creative community and writers’ guilds.

The controversy centers around the network’s push towards AI in content creation, highlighting a broader industry debate about the role of AI in creative fields.

ITV’s actions mirror similar moves by major corporations, including Disney and Netflix, which have also faced criticism for integrating AI into their processes.

ITV’s Head of Generative AI Innovation

ITV’s new role, posted on LinkedIn , seeks applicants with a “passion for merging creative content production with cutting-edge AI technology.”

The London-based role offers a salary of up to £95,000 ($124,000), an annual bonus opportunity, and a “generous holiday allowance.”

Lisa McGee, the creator of the hit Channel 4 show Derry Girls, told Broadcast magazine that the role was “incredibly depressing and, considering how AI material is generated, unethical.”

“Screenwriting is both an art form and a craft, and I think what I find most disturbing is this desire to replace us,” she added.

Jeff Bowerman, Executive Creative Director at digital marketing agency DEPT, told CCN that ITV’s new role was causing uproar because it touched the  heart of ITV’s “proper creativity.”

“Now, even if this doesn’t mean primetime Ant and Dec becoming AI and Tech, it’s a direction of travel that’s disturbing for writers, directors, actors, crews, and I’d wager audiences alike,” Bowerman said.

However, Louise Burke, musician and actress who appeared in Netflix’s The Crown, told CCN that she believes the rise of AI in content creation, like the role ITV has advertised, is an exciting development that offers huge opportunities for the creative industry.

“While concerns about AI replacing human creators are understandable, I think it’s essential to focus on collaboration between AI and humans rather than seeing it as a threat,” she said.

Disney, Netflix Look Into AI

ITV is not alone in its AI vision. Major corporations worldwide are implementing AI into the creative process by automating scriptwriting, generating CGI, and editing.

In 2023, Disney announced it was forming a task force to study how AI can be implemented into its creative process, alongside the cutting of 7,000 employees.

At the same time, Netflix posted a job advertisement for an AI-focused product manager, boasting a $900,000 salary.

This all came during the strike of 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America to demand new rules for AI in film and television writing.

Is AI Coming for Creatives?

According to a January 2024 study from CVL Economics, over 204,000 entertainment industry positions will be affected by AI in the next three years.

The study, which surveyed 300 industry leaders, found that over 20 percent of entertainment jobs will be cut.

The Last Screenwriter, a movie entirely scripted using ChatGPT, faced intense criticism and controversy upon its release. The Prince Charles Cinema in London controversially canceled its scheduled premiere following audience backlash.

“The feedback we received over the last 24hrs once we advertised the film has highlighted the strong concern held by many of our audience on the use of AI in place of a writer, which speaks to a wider issue within the industry,” the cinema wrote on social media.

Big Tech’s AI Outlook

Leaders in AI Tech have argued that AI can democratize creative production by lowering barriers to entry and providing tools to independent artists and small studios.

However, much of big tech has been actively aware of the backlash from the creative community.

Tech companies like Microsoft and Google have tried to frame their AI tools as augmenting human abilities rather than eliminating jobs – putting the focus on collaboration rather than replacement.

In June, Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati predicted that “some creative jobs, maybe, will go away” but added that “maybe they shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”