Netflix Apparently Has Big Plans To Create Content With AI

AI has quickly become a key negotiation point in the SAG-AFTRA strikes, as actors and writers haggle with Hollywood production studios to pay them a fair wage. Specifically, it's generative AI — the one that can generate text, make images, and synthesize audio tunes — that is being seen as a dangerous tool that will put a lot of people out of their jobs. Netflix, on the other hand, is willing to pay close to a million dollars for talent with expertise in AI and adjacent fields.

A Netflix job posting for a Product Manager in Machine Learning could pay up to $900,000 per year to a person who can help "create great content." That's in stark contact with the wage earned by a background "extra" actor, which falls between $100 to $200 for a day's worth of work. For unionized SAG members, the base rate falls around $187, according to Backstage. Netflix, which has so far avoided the fallout of SAG-AFTRA strikes due to its global content production strategy, is no stranger to using AI.

The streaming giant extensively relies on AI and ML tech, but so far, it has been limited to technical tasks; not for work that would otherwise fall into the domain of creatives like writers, actors, and graphics designers. But as the industry leans towards the fruits of AI, Netflix wants to cash in, as well. Netflix says it used generative AI for one of its mobile games called "Scriptic: Crime Stories" to help with gameplay narration.

It seems that Netflix is willing to pay generously for roles that require AI and ML expertise. A "Technical Director, AI/ML" who can assist with game development can earn up to $650,000, while a Level-6 Research Scientist exploring use cases of cutting-edge AI to help solve Netflix problems can make $900,000. We explored Netflix's job portal and found that a Product Manager (ML platform) can earn up to $900,000, while an Engineering Manager (ML, Member Satisfaction) can pocket up to $842,000 each year.

These salaries are a clear sign that Netflix — and other production studios — aren't reluctant to explore AI to boost workflow and profits. One way to achieve that is owning the likeness to an artist's voice or physical profile. SAG-AFTRA recently rejected a proposal in which AMPTP, the group representing Hollywood production houses, sought to pay a one-time fee of $200 to an artist and own their digital likeness for use in future entertainment properties without paying them each time it's used in a film, show, or video game.

The consensus, it seems, is that AI is inevitable. Marvel used AI to create credit posters. The Beatles, however, are using it to complete a song in the voice of a deceased band-member. The fight, therefore, is not only for better wages, but commitment from studios that AI won't be deployed at the expense of human talent. Unfortunately, Netflix's lavish spending on AI talent looks like a bad omen for protesting writers and actors.