# Hollywood unions reject AI doomsday narrative

> While tech leaders warn of existential AI risks, entertainment labor groups say the real threat is job displacement happening right now.
- Title: Hollywood unions reject AI doomsday narrative · The Verge
- Summary: While tech leaders warn of existential AI risks, entertainment labor groups say the real threat is job displacement happening right now. Hollywood unions…
- Keywords: sag-aftra, writers guild of america, artificial intelligence, hollywood labor, ai regulation, actor replacement, digital replicas, 2023 strikes, tech companies, worker protection, entertainment industry, ai safety
- Source: The Verge — https://theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/997358/what-hollywood-thinks-about-existential-ai-warnings
- Author: Charles Pulliam-Moore
- Published: 2026-09-18T16:35:19+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: sag-aftra, writers guild of america, artificial intelligence, hollywood labor, ai regulation, actor replacement, digital replicas, 2023 strikes, tech companies, worker protection, entertainment industry, ai safety
## Tech warns of AI apocalypse
Anthropic researchers and major AI company leaders are sounding alarms about existential risks, with some claiming the technology could kill all humans within a decade.
## Studios stay silent on AI risks
The Verge asked Disney, Netflix, Amazon, Lionsgate, and other studios about their reaction to AI warnings. None responded to requests for comment.
## Unions focus on real job threats
SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America East say entertainment AI differs from existential risk models, but still threatens human jobs through digital actor replicas and script generation.
## SAG-AFTRA negotiated protections
During 2023 strikes, the union secured enforceable guardrails requiring studios to get permission and compensate actors for AI-generated replicas of their performances.
## Crabtree-Ireland questions tech honesty
SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator says hearing apocalyptic warnings from the same billionaires profiting from AI makes it hard to know what to trust.

> what to trust or what to believe
## Doomerism drives AI hype
Crabtree-Ireland notes that apocalyptic messaging has become a common marketing tactic for AI companies to generate buzz around their products.
## Strike messaging shaped public opinion
SAG-AFTRA's focused strike message about concrete AI threats helped convince the public and studios that the union's concerns deserved serious attention.
## Without protections, faster replacement
Crabtree-Ireland believes that without the negotiated guardrails, studios would have adopted digital actor replacement much faster and more aggressively.
## Writers Guild condemns tech oligarchs
WGAE executive director Sam Wheeler says the recklessness of tech leaders pushing AI has been matched only by their dishonesty about the risks.

> The recklessness of the tech oligarchs pushing AI on our society has been matched only by their rampant dishonesty.
## Real harms are happening now
Wheeler lists worker disempowerment, internet degradation, disinformation spread, and rising energy costs as concrete harms AI is already causing.
## Collective bargaining isn't enough
Wheeler says unions won protections through strikes, but government regulation is needed to address AI harms across society, not just in entertainment.

> collective bargaining is not a replacement for government regulation
## Hold humans accountable, not AI
Wheeler argues that AI harms result from human decisions, and the solution is holding companies and executives liable for the damage their products cause.

> These harms are the result of decisions made by human beings.
## Key takeaway

Hollywood unions fought for concrete protections against AI replacing workers during 2023 strikes, and they're skeptical of tech companies using apocalyptic warnings as cover for irresponsible deployment.