AI: These Aren’t the Jobs You’re Looking For

Everyone’s talking about AI like it’s the new apocalypse for Hollywood. You’ve got panelists preaching doom at festivals, writers tweeting like they’re next in line for extinction, and studio execs pretending they understand what a transformer model even is.

But here’s the truth: AI is going to cut into some corners of the entertainment industry — just not the ones everyone’s panicking about.

⚙️ The Jobs That Actually Are at Risk

Visual effects, previs, and some development roles are absolutely going to feel it first. That’s not fearmongering — that’s math.

AI tools can already generate decent storyboards, fill in sky replacements, simulate crowds, and even render photorealistic test shots for scenes that haven’t been lit, blocked, or shot. Why pay for twenty compositors to fix every reflection on a car window when a diffusion model can do it in a minute?

And in development? You’ll start seeing fewer assistants reading stacks of scripts and more studios running screenplays through AI systems that score “story efficiency” and “emotional pacing.” It’s not glamorous, but it’s happening.

That said — and this is the part everyone misses — this tech isn’t replacing storytelling. It’s just trimming the labor that leads up to it.

🧠 Writers: AI Is a Bicycle, Not a Replacement

Let’s talk about writers.

AI for writers is like giving a runner a bicycle — you’ll get there faster, but you’re still the one pedaling. The tool can summarize, organize, reformat, and spit out first drafts of structure or dialogue that might save you days. But if you think it’s going to write great scripts — it’s not.

Why? Because originality isn’t AI’s strong suit. It learns from us — from the material, patterns, and tastes we’ve already produced. But our culture changes in unpredictable ways, even by superintelligence standards. The next big thing is far more likely to come from Taylor Sheridan than a computer.

We fall in love with things that shouldn’t work: deadpan comedies, long takes, quiet endings, characters that don’t fit cleanly into formulas. Human taste evolves faster than any dataset can train on.

So yes — AI will make writers faster, maybe sharper, definitely more efficient. But it won’t make them obsolete. You still need a human brain to spot what’s new — and that’s the part machines can’t fake.

🎭 Actors: The Real Ones Aren’t Going Anywhere

And actors? Actors are fine.

I don’t care what Tilly Norwood says — actors are safe because people don’t just follow performances; they follow people.

Real actors become part of cultural conversations in the real world. They show up on talk shows, get photographed at airports, stumble through relationships, and give the public something to root for or against. People like to follow their heroes off-screen — otherwise tabloids wouldn’t exist.

AI actors might look the part, but they’re going to be more like your favorite animated characters: interesting, entertaining, even iconic — but not a replacement for the real thing.

You can’t gossip about a render. Also, the day that a major agency signs a fucking AI actor will be the same day 90% of their A-list roster walks out the door. So, there’s that.

💡 What’s Really Coming

The immediate future isn’t about replacement — it’s about amplification. AI will make the pros faster, leaner, and more scalable. Smaller crews will be able to deliver studio-level output, indie filmmakers will be able to pre-viz like Pixar, and screenwriters will be able to iterate ten times faster than before. It’s like the introduction of the Red Camera, but on crack with an espresso side-car.

But it’s still human taste — and human messiness — that sells tickets. The most successful creatives will be the ones who use AI as a partner, not a crutch.

Because the truth is, Hollywood’s never feared automation — it fears boredom. And AI doesn’t get bored… but it also doesn’t fall in love, take risks, or accidentally create something weird enough to change cinema forever.

That’s still our job.