Artificial Intelligence

I woke up this morning to an email which stopped me in my tracks. Would I like to trial a new AI tool which could analyse scripts in record time. It suggested I obviously have far too many scripts in my slush pile and hinted that i´m missing the next Breaking Bad.

This new AI tech proposes that it will be able to sift, analyse (using my parameters) and understand the uniqueness of a writer´s voice. Does that mean I am out of a job ? No, the email says it will free up my time by taking over the laborious task of reading that material, giving me the focus to nurture exciting writers.

Do I have too little time and too many scripts to read – of course. Would an AI assistant be helpful in prioritising those reads from unknown writers? Maybe. But how would that help young execs starting out to learn to read and discuss material? I can judge within ten pages whether or not I want to continue reading a script. Over the years, I have learned to trust my gut reaction to a read. Would I trust the gut reaction of my AI colleague? Does AI even have a gut feeling?

The world keeps moving and changing and I believe we need to embrace the change – even if it scares us. However, I also believe that the joy (and pain) of the movie business is in the unknown. Sometimes, a project ticks all the boxes but the movie is a dud. At others, a tiny film that nobody thought had a chance, breaks through. It´s the magic of the movies.

The movie business is about collaboration. So … if the AI will collaborate – maybe there is hope (& a job) for all of us.