Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere. Even Barbie is hooking up with AI. No matter where you turn your head, AI is on everyone’s mind.
After the 146-day Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, AI was (and still is) a major discussion in production. So, what do producers need to know about it? Let’s take a deeper dive into the complex and evolving relationship between producers and AI.
Disclaimer: As AI continues to evolve, some of the legal updates, information, and products may change after this post is published. I aim to provide the most up-to-date information as of this writing, but you should always consult with a legal advisor for additional clarification and before you hop on any AI trend.
Comments with bullying of any kind including degrading comments, name calling, and responses about race, religion, politics, culture, sexual orientation, gender, or identity will not be tolerated. If you have questions about how I moderate comments on this blog post, please read my website disclaimer.
The producer’s role
What do I mean by the word “producer”? If you’re already in production, you can skip this part, but for folks who are not familiar with what a producer does, read on!
As I’ve been on my own personal journey pursuing this career path, I’ve found the word “producer” can mean many different things. The term “producer” is thrown around a lot, as many companies expect to hire someone who can do it all when it comes to photography or video, including script writing, storyboards, directing, filming, lighting, sound, and editing. On a much bigger project, however, these roles have to be split up and “producer” means something very different.
Here’s my favorite description of who a producer is and what they do: “A producer does everything outside of the frame to make sure everything inside the frame happens.” What people may not be aware of is what happens behind the photo, video, film, song, etc. in order for the content to be experienced by the public. Budgets, contracts, union negotiations, location regulations, and much more have to be arranged before anything is ever published — and that’s where producers come in.
Nick Slatkin adds: “A good producer doesn’t do everything — they bring everything together. They build the team, manage the process, protect the timeline, align the vision, and make sure the right people are doing the right jobs at the right time.” In short, we’re the therapist, the advisor, and the camp director holding it all together in film, music, advertising, and more.
The story behind Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI isn’t as new as you’d expect. Alan Turing’s work is frequently credited with sparking the question: “Can machines think?” Although his Computing Machinery and Intelligence serves as the foundation of AI, theories, concepts, and experiments were happening long before.
What’s different now is the rapid pace AI is developing. Through machine learning, AI uses algorithms to quickly identify complex patterns and speed up the decision-making process. As more advancements are made, it’s predicted that AI models that process data and insights will integrate with AI agents that perform tasks autonomously to make decisions on their own with more precision.
How producers are using AI
In the film industry, AI has made a major impact on pre-production and post-production processes. The Producers Guild of America provides an extensive list of AI tools producers and creators are using in filmmaking to assist with brainstorming, storyboarding, and editing work. I even found a few Adobe tools on the list that I use to clean up noise in a video and extend a background in a photo.
Music producers and creators are also using AI to manage the recording process, provide access to more resources, and assist with composition. Some musicians have used AI to recreate vocal tracks or create an entire album. Some of the most popular tools for music help create background music for commercials or video games.
AI isn’t only for the ideating, generating, and editing stages. Producers have used AI to update filming schedules and timelines, establish casting submissions, and more. As I learn more about Asana for project management, AI is, to no surprise, a part of every lesson. In Asana, AI can be used to generate summaries for projects, write and edit tasks, and create custom projects.
Copyright & Authorship
Currently, AI-generated works are not protected under copyright, but works created partially by AI may be eligible. The U.S. Copyright Office’s report concludes that work using assistive AI is eligible for copyright. Say for instance a photographer makes an image using a real photo of a person but makes the background with Generative AI. The AI-generated background is not eligible for copyright and if someone else uses it, they are not infringing on copyright.
Artists, authors, and publications have criticized AI companies for using their work to train AI models, and some have even sued. A few may impact what’s next for AI:
A Delaware court ruled that using copyrighted materials to train AI systems is infringement when the data is being used for commercial purposes and it impacts the value of the original work used to train AI.
A US District Judge also ruled that Stability AI, Midjourney, DeviantArt, and Runway AI violated artists' rights by using their works.
In September 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed 17 new AI bills. AB 2602 gives performers control over how their digital replicas are used and AB 1836 requires disclosures for training data.
What U.S. The Copyright Office officially publishes in the Part 3 of their AI report may settle the score on whether AI companies have to license creatives’ work used to train their models.
Because of this legal labyrinth, production companies are hesitant to fully embrace AI. Some companies have met AI halfway, like Lightricks partnering with Shutterstock to use and license their extensive video asset library. Lionsgate also announced a partnership with Runway to train a new Generative AI model using content owned by the studio. Will these partnerships work? Only time will tell.
Provisions from guilds, unions, and more
Guilds, performance rights organizations, and more have been stepping up to establish AI guidelines to protect creators. Although many of these are for the filmmaking industry, it’s good for producers in other industries to understand how it might impact their work.
Producers Guild of America (PGA)
The guild’s Produced By magazine includes an informative guide with requirements from guilds, current laws, and legal steps in progress. A key takeaway from their panel discussion about producers and AI: Add indemnification policies to contracts to make sure that when a creator makes content for a company, their content does not infringe intellectual property (IP) rights.
Writers Guild Association (WGA)
WGA’s 2023 MBA provisions clarify when AI can and cannot be used and what’s considered literary material. Some big takeaways for producers: Companies have to disclose when they’re giving a writer AI-generated material and that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited.
SAG-AFTRA
Hollywood has run into issues with AI tools’ unauthorized use of a person’s likeness. Lori McCreary, CEO of Morgan Freeman's Revelations Entertainment, advocates for tools that can verify the authenticity of digital content after a deepfake produced a very convincing video of the actor.
Until those tools are developed, SAG-AFTRA’s AI web page includes a wealth of resources such as the Digital Replicas 101 and a 2-page document that covers what’s required when using generative AI, digital replicas, and more. Notable takeaways for producers: You’re obligated to obtain consent from a performer and compensate them whether or not you’ve hired them to create the digital replica or created it without them. Producers also have to notify SAG-AFTRA if you create synthetic performers.
BMI & ASCAP
Both BMI and ASCAP’s AI web pages include their stance on a human-centric approach to creation, copyright regulations they support, and the steps they’ve taken to advocate for creators. Producers should note: As of now both BMI and ASCAP follow the U.S. Copyright Office’s guidance and do not allow creators to register fully or partially AI-generated works.
Framework for Artificial Intelligence Responsibility (FAIR)
Developed by one of the artists behind the first AI feature films, The FAIRCodex guidelines are all about adopting fairness when creating art with AI. Some important takeaways for producers: Avoid referencing copyrighted works, styles by existing brands or artists, and descriptions of real people such as celebrities when using AI. You should also take steps to be aware of bias results from systemic prejudices.
Not following ethical practices has been costly for brands. When KFC created an ad from AI in April 2025, they faced plagiarism accusations and because it couldn’t be copyrighted, competitors could use it. As AI refines its processes and social media algorithms favor engagement over authenticity, audiences are more hesitant to trust the content that’s out there. For producers, this is a big red flag: A “zero-trust” internet means consumers are more suspicious and less willing to trust a brand, and that’s something no brand wants.
Ethical practices are more than good for the soul, they are also good for finances: “Being ethical isn’t just a solid principle; it’s a good business move. Making more ethical choices than are required can often end up saving a production a significant amount of time and money in the long run.”
Archival Producers Alliance (APA)
Founded in 2023, this group was established to address generative AI and if existing primary source materials were altered in ways that could mislead audiences. Their Best Practices for the Use of Generative AI in Documentaries include some important considerations for Producers: Use primary sources over AI-generated material, adopt transparency when using AI, and work hand-in-hand with lawyers to understand legal ramifications.
Will AI replace production staff?
The debate around humans vs. tech has been a concern anytime there is new technology. The biggest difference now is how much AI is growing and its threat to humans.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, a powerful creator of AI, warned that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs. He predicts this could increase unemployment to 10-20% in the next one to five years, urging AI companies and the government to act now to protect the public.
AI models are even rewriting their own code and one model tried to blackmail an engineer with a fake affair if the engineer tried to replace the AI model. To ignore this advancing technology would be dangerous, which is why it’s vital to be aware of AI and its potential impacts.
The Animation Guild’s survey reported that 75% of respondents saw AI programs eliminate, reduce, or consolidate jobs. 90% of business leaders also predict AI will play a larger role in the entertainment industry, but only 26% of respondents felt their organization’s workforce was fully prepared for the integration.
The jobs most vulnerable to AI? Entry-level positions. This matters because these roles offer entry points into an industry. Fewer entry points leads to fewer qualified workers to fill Level 3 vacancies over the next 10 to 20 years.
What is even more concerning is how this may impact diversity in the workforce. A lower number of junior positions means less diversity as those from less affluent backgrounds and underrepresented communities have traditionally used these roles as a pathway towards economic and career mobility.
Job losses, narrowing entry points, and the environmental impacts of AI are just the starting point on why we should not fully rely on it. Figuring out the most effective prompt and inputs can be incredibly time-consuming and AI art currently struggles with understanding how to depict the nuances of human communication such as body language and intonation.
I ran into this issue when experimenting with ChatGPT to try out the action figure trend on social media. My plan was to make different versions of action figures reflecting the various facets of my personality (I’m a Gemini, yo). Although I made very thorough prompts for each image, it started to merge them together. I also asked ChatGPT to make specific edits to an image and it would make updates I didn’t prompt it to do. Don’t quit your day job AI.
I’ve used ChatGPT to brainstorm ways to reply to a comment or write an email if I’m stuck on what to say. At first it seemed to come up with great content, but after a while, it started to use the same phrases and seeing words like “unleash,” “unlock,” or “delve” on ads, social media, and more made me want to scream. Don’t even get me started on overused em dashes.
In an effort to be helpful, colleagues have sent me lists of potential content ideas. The ideas weren’t bad, but they didn’t take into account that I had already implemented many of them with little to no results. Plus, the strategy and direction of my organization was in transition mode which will impact the direction of our digital content. The list started and ended with statements that were a dead giveaway that they were copied from ChatGPT. Nothing wrong with using AI to brainstorm ideas, but the only one who knows what’s best for your company’s digital content are the people running it and engaging with your audiences every day.
Many people tell me they use AI as a tool for certain tasks. I was beginning to wonder if by “tool” they meant using AI as a device to accomplish a task or a slang word to refer to something useless and dysfunctional. Wishing I had a graphic designer while attempting to make my action figures, I realized that this is a moment where AI should not replace humans.
Erik Huberman has the right idea: “The best campaigns today are the perfect blend of human imagination and machine intelligence… Train your team to use it as an extension of their capabilities, not a replacement. When done right, AI doesn’t dilute creativity — it amplifies it.” In other words, use AI to identify audience patterns and trends, but don’t rely on it to build a genuine human connection.
No matter how much technology advances, humans still need a connection to one another. This was true long before COVID-19. In the 1971 film THX-1138, the movie depicts a dystopian future where humans are controlled by android police and mandatory use of drugs that suppress emotions. When two people decide to rebel and stop taking their meds, they fall in love with each as they wake up to their own existence.
What does the future hold?
In a rapidly changing world, I don’t think it’s possible to predict anything. While AI and legal regulations continue to progress, here are some things producers need keep an eye on:
Be aware of copyright updates: The U.S. Copyright Office report on Generative AI Training might spell out what’s next in regards to data that can be used to train AI models. Licensing content from creators should be considered if we’re going to use their materials to train AI.
Track the relationship between studios, brands, and AI: Disney and Universal suing Midjourney is the start of a much bigger conversation and could shift the roles studios play in IP regulation and content creation. Keep an eye out for partnerships like Shutterstock and Lionsgate’s agreements with AI companies that I mentioned earlier to see the impact it has on licensing creator’s work to train AI models.
Think beyond legal updates: It’s up to humans to hold AI accountable and infuse our values in this technology as it advances. AI models rewriting their own code and the rise of false imagery and deepfakes on social media show how scary it can get. That’s why I think it’s up to all of us to keep questioning, adopt analog intelligence to sharpen our critical thinking, and explore ways to address the ethical and environmental concerns surrounding AI.
While AI can offer endless possibilities in production, it also comes with big questions and producers can make a difference as to how we address these issues. It’s up to us to think through the legalities, the impacts on branding and creative, and what this means for the creatives who make what’s inside the frame. Or, in the words of McCreary: "In the end, we’ll know producers didn’t just survive the AI shift — we shaped it."
Like this post? Pin it for later!
Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay