Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how individuals, governments, and corporations operate; and copywriting is not excluded. Tools like AI Screenwriter, Sudowrite, and ScriptMaster GPT are transforming the screenwriting process through AI capabilities. This transformation is a complicated one; raising ethical concerns related to technocracy and the automation of creative labor. What does it say about society to displace writers and replace them with prompt engineers and generative AI? 

The usage of artificial intelligence tools for screenwriting has attracted international attention and debate. In the United States, the Hollywood Writers Strike was led by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and supported by numerous industry stakeholders. The strike protested the usage of generative AI in scriptwriting and writer layoffs. In Europe, the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IWAG) spoke against AI’s usage in screenwriting, and advocated for ethical copyright protections and applications to creative work. In conjunction with the Europe AI Act, stakeholders desired AI transparency and expansion of copyright legislation to address newfound AI-related concerns.

Co-Creation vs Plagiarism: Where Does AI Stand?

In November 2018, The Atlantic writer and programmer Alex Reisner published an article exposing the usage of screenplays (whose content was available on opensubtitles.org) to train AI models. Leveraging pre-existing creative works and analyzing patterns; AI models were able to produce screenplays for popular media. Popular creators such as Shonda Rimes, Ryan Murphy, and Matt Groenig’s screenplays were utilized to train models without creator consent. These screenplays were available online, and extracted to train AI models to write. Teen Titans writer David Slack commented “it’s not ‘artificial intelligence’ it’s a plagiarism machine”. While creators can sue or otherwise protect their copyrighted content when a human uses it without proper permission, they are somewhat powerless on the individual level with AI.

Can a prompt engineer replace a screenwriter? Technically yes, but this idea is met with disapproval from both industry professionals and the public alike. Generative AI’s extractive nature and scraping pre-existing work for content is highly technocratic; and the original creators are excluded from the profits. The debate is not only one of financial and labor ethics, but the very nature of human creativity. AI lacks consciousness and identity; which are the very fabric of most creative works. AI-generated films have been met with mixed responses, from amusement to fascination to disgust. These works are uncanny to many who express preference for work by human creators. While members of the public and industry professionals express fear and skepticism, the technology continues to be adopted by studio leadership to cut costs and increase output.

Adoption of AI in Film & Theater 

With the reaction from many writers being fear and aversion, it begs the question - where can AI be used for good in screenwriting? For some AI is simply another resource in their toolkit that is not about the creative process itself; similar to the (non-AI) tools Final Draft and Celtx. AI capability can expedite script coverage and analyze patterns or tropes in scripts for long-running series. For indie or low-budget filmmakers and theater professionals, AI tools and technology increase accessibility. Tasks such as script coverage and pattern identification can be automated by AI, saving stakeholders time and energy without exploitative implications.

Theater industry professionals are also adopting and co-creating with artificial intelligence. AI (GPT-2 specifically) generated the script for a THEaiTRE project titled AI: When a Robot Writes a Play in 2021. Human writers refined the script and human theater professionals conducted every other part of the production process. The Orange Grove Dance company leveraged AI to co-design choreography for their performances in 2024. Improvrobotics actors respond to written prompts generated by AI in their live shows. These performances attract attention due to their “early adoption” of an emergent technology and debate surrounding the quality of their output. Is using AI in theater simply an attempt to be avant garde? Or does the quality of the art stand; despite its origins?

Film industry professionals have similarly adopted AI in their productions. Swiss filmmaker Peter Luisi directed a film titled The Last Screenwriter - which had an AI-generated script. The film’s plot parallels contemporary debates in the industry. It focuses on a screenwriter grappling with AI surpassing him in his abilities. American filmmaker Paul Schrader experimented with AI-generated film ideas and leveraged Chat GPT in his brainstorming process. Schrader commented that the scripts produced by Chat GPT were of decent quality and in some cases indistinguishable from scripts written by people. In 2024, film production company Lionsgate collaborated with Runway to analyze storytelling and production processes used in film. Lionsgate aspires to improve the quality of films and leverage AI for insights on content creation and media development.       

Technology Adoption in Filmmaking: The Past & Present

AI’s adoption in film and theater can draw comparisons with other technological innovations in history. Early films were silent and captioned with text cards or accompanied by live music; as cameras could not capture sound. In the mid-1920s, audio recording technology emerged and was met with excitement from some and resistance from others - who were forced to re-evaluate their entire process.  Filmmakers re-evaluated their storyboarding processes and had an entirely new component to include in their productions. Some actors who thrived in silent films struggled with the transition to “talkies” - they were now forced to disguise accents, sing well, and deliver dialogue to the appropriate effect. There were similar conversations regarding emergent technology, and its positive and negative impacts on industry stakeholders.

In the 1990s computer-generated imaging (CGI) was developed and integrated into projects. It was initially met with both skepticism and criticism. Many preferred practical effects and shooting on location to CGI. Audiences critiqued CGI for its distracting presence in films and discussed its detraction from quality. The technology and its output has improved significantly since the 1990s and is now industry standard. CGI was initially used in science-fiction and fantasy media to create fantastical elements and is now used across genres for ubiquitous reasons. The transition from celluloid to digital film increased accessibility and opportunity for indie filmmakers and convenience for larger studios. However, some industry stakeholders are insistent that celluloid film is superior and prefer it, despite a newer and cheaper alternative being available.

Many cite the Hollywood Actor’s Strike and its resolution as an important AI precedent; not only for screenwriting but for other laborers and industries. The memorandum of agreement from the strike prohibits AI from being credited as an author on projects. However, the debate rages on. Does AI usage fundamentally undermine the integrity of creative media? Or is it just a product of the times; demanding that creative professionals and industries adapt? Ultimately AI is neither the enemy nor is it a savior - it is a tool with both risks and benefits. The Hollywood Writers Strike and European regulations on AI demonstrate writer’s anxieties surrounding the technology, and the demand for ethical adoption. Historically, the creators who adapted to newfound technology (audio, CGI, digital film) were the most successful long-term. Technology is most effective when it compliments human artistry rather than displacing it.

As artificial intelligence continues to reshare screenwriting and script writing stakeholders are faced with a pivotal choice: can AI be used to enhance human creativity and capability, or is it a technocratic shortcut that undermines the art and the artist? Stakeholders including filmmakers, writers, actors, and audiences all have influence and impact. If storytelling and art are intrinsically human ethical adoption of AI and safeguards must be implemented. Writers in the FSE, IWAG, WGA, and actors in SAG-AFTRA advocated the protection of their craft and the value of their labor. Only time will tell how audiences respond to AI-generated scripts and screenplays, or be able to distinguish co-created works from ones with solely human authorship.