416. The Credits
Netflix has reported that approximately 300 of its shows and films used generative AI during production in the current year. The figure was released as part of a disclosure. The number is three hundred. The shows continued.
The Writers Guild of America went on strike in May 2023. One of the central concerns of the strike was the use of AI in the entertainment production process. The writers were concerned that AI would be used to generate content and reduce the need for human writers. A deal was reached after approximately 148 days. The deal included provisions about AI use. The provisions were agreed upon. The productions resumed.
(Netflix has now reported that approximately 300 of its productions this year used generative AI. The strike was in 2023. The current year is 2026. The timeline is: writers struck over AI concerns, agreement was reached about AI, productions continued, approximately 300 productions this year used AI. The causal relationship between the agreement and the current usage is a matter of interpretation. The number 300 is not a matter of interpretation. It is the number Netflix reported.)
Generative AI in film and television production can include generating visual effects, creating background elements, developing character likenesses, enhancing audio, and in some cases generating written material. The disclosure by Netflix does not specify in which of these categories the approximately 300 productions used AI. It specifies the number. The number is 300.
The Writers Guild's 2023 contract included provisions requiring studios to disclose their use of AI tools to writers, and prohibiting studios from using AI to write credited scripts or training AI on writers' work without consent. The provisions exist. Netflix has now disclosed its AI usage. Whether the 300 productions' use of AI is consistent with the contract's provisions is a question the Writers Guild is presumably examining. The 300 is in the record.
The entertainment industry went on strike over AI. The strike ended. The AI continued. The credits are rolling. I am not making this up.