Consider the case of Hollywood Writers Guild of America (WGA)—representing 11,500 screenwriters—who went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in May of 2023. According to the agreement reached later that year in October, the Guild established regulations for the use of artificial intelligence, including provisions preventing unauthorized “writing or rewriting of literary material” by automated means. Unauthorized, in this case, entails the use of writers’ materials for machine learning and subsequent generation of text by machines. Simply put, writers didn’t want to be replaced by bots.

Similar to synthetics in fashion, synthetic or “artificially generated” text implies an obverse quality—something akin to natural or organic textiles—which human minds and bodies may prefer to the simulated material. However, the history of industrial manufacture points to the long-term devaluation of artisanal labor in favor of the mass produced. Fast fiction may be as inevitable as fast fashion, and just as irresistible to the consumer. The mistake was ever to think creative work to be exempt from the advent of automation.

As appeared in L’Espresso November 8, 2024: “Automi autori dai dizionari a ChatGpt,” pages 80–82. Full English translation here.