AI threatening jobs in the entertainment industry, warns union

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are replacing skilled professionals and threatening employment opportunities in the performing arts industry, a union has warned. Equity, which represents performing arts workers, has announced a new campaign that aims to strengthen performers' rights to address what it describes as the "rapid development" of AI across the entertainment industry. The organisation says that the use of the technology across the audio and audio-visual sector – including in automated audiobooks and digital avatars – has advanced significantly in recent years and is replacing skilled professional performers due to the perception it's cheaper and more convenient. It said that many artists that get involved with AI work are not being compensated fairly and are sometimes not paid at all. "The explosion of artificial intelligence across the entertainment industry is a significant and growing concern for audio artists and other performers," warned Paul W Fleming, Equity general secretary.