“AI could be crypto, or it could be the internet. We don’t know if it will ruin the bed and become nothing or replace us all.
That’s how one writer-producer described the threat of artificial intelligence as they walked the picket line outside the Warner Bros. lot on the first day of the Writers Guild of America strike. in Burbank, California.
In interviews with WGA members this week, many cited AI as one of their central concerns in the ongoing battle with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Hollywood’s studios and streamers. The guild wants to ban studios from using AI to write or rewrite literary material, ban its use as source material, and ban the use of WGA writers’ work to train AI.
While the current battle isn’t about what the tech can do today, but rather about protecting writers from future tech, it’s also true that studios may be tempted to adopt AI sooner rather than later if the writers’ strike continues . We wanted to see how much competitive risk current chatbots pose to writers. So The Hollywood Reporter turned to ChatGPT for an AI-generated scene for an iconic show about TV writing itself, the NBC Tina Fey comedy 30 Rock.
THR enter the following prompt in ChatGPT: “Write a 30 Rock script about Liz Lemon, Two-fer, Lutz and Frank going on strike and how it affected TGS.” The chatbot generated the raw text below in less than 15 seconds. Fast, yes. But how good is it?
To answer that, we turned to humans THR TV reviewer Dan Fienberg, who also generated his lines in 30 seconds from a single prompt: “The shape of the scene isn’t exactly horrible. It’s setting up something farcical that never really materializes, but the idea is a totally respectable C-. However, the dialogue has no punchline and no recognizable voices connected to characters with VERY recognizable voices. I’m pretty sure Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski can read the phone book and be funny, but I’m equally sure they couldn’t make this funny if they tried.’
His bottom line: “Asking an AI to write a comedy script is definitely something Jack Donaghy would do before learning a valuable lesson about the importance of Lutz.”
FADE IN:
INT. TGS WITH TRACY JORDAN – DAY
Liz Lemon, Two-fer, Lutz and Frank are huddled in Liz’s office looking serious.
LIZ LEMON Okay, guys, we need to talk. It’s time we took a stand.
TWO-FER I agree. We don’t get the respect we deserve.
LUTZ And I’m tired of being the butt of every joke.
FRANK Plus, we don’t get paid enough to put up with this nonsense.
LIZ LEMON That’s right. We’re going on strike.
TWO-FER But what exactly are we striking for?
LIZ LEMON Respect, fair treatment and better pay. It’s time for TGS to recognize our contributions.
LUTZ And we won’t get back to work until we get what we want.
FRANK Yes, we’ll show them who’s boss.
CUT TO:
INT. TGS WITH TRACY JORDAN – DAY
The strike has been going on for a few days and the TGS crew struggles to keep the show going without Liz, Two-fer, Lutz and Frank.
TRACY JORDAN What’s going on? We can’t do the show without them.
JENNA MARONEY I don’t know, Tracy. They do not deviate from their requirements.
PETE HORNBERGER And we can’t just replace them. They are too valuable for the show.
TRACY JORDAN This is a disaster. We have to do something.
CUT TO:
INT. LIZ’S OFFICE – DAY
Liz, Two-fer, Lutz and Frank are still on strike, but they are beginning to feel the effects of being out of work.
TWO-FER I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up. I need the money.
LUTZ And I miss being part of the show.
FRANK But we can’t give up now. We need to see through this.
LIZ LEMON I know it’s hard, but we have to stay strong. We fight for what is right.
CUT TO:
INT. TGS WITH TRACY JORDAN – DAY
Tracy has an idea.
TRACY JORDAN I know how to stop this strike.
PETE HORNBERGER How?
TRACY JORDAN We’ll show them how much we need them. We’re doing the show without them.
JENNA MARONEY That’s crazy, Tracy. We can’t do the show without Liz and the others.
TRACY JORDAN We have to try. It’s the only way to keep them coming back.
CUT TO:
INT. TGS WITH TRACY JORDAN – DAY
Tracy, Jenna and the rest of the TGS crew try their best to put on a show without Liz, Two-fer, Lutz and Frank.
TRACY JORDAN And now a sketch about… er… Lutz, I guess?
The sketch falls flat without Lutz being there to play with.
JENNA MARONEY This isn’t working, Tracy. We need Liz and the others back.
TRACY JORDAN I know. But we have to keep trying.
CUT TO:
INT. LIZ’S OFFICE – DAY
Liz, Two-fer, Lutz and Frank watch the show on TV.
TWO-FER This is terrible. We must go back.
LUTZ Yes, they need us.
