Seth Rogen on WGA strike: AI would have to be high to write anything good

As the Writers Guild of America strike continues, many notable celebrities are coming forward with their thoughts, all of which are, expectedly, pro-union. The strike, which began earlier this month, has also given them a platform to speak about topics we may not normally get to hear them lash out about: namely, artificial intelligence. Now, amid the strike, actor, writer and pot(tery) enthusiast Seth Rogen has spoken out against AI, saying it would need some serious bud if it was going to churn out a filmable script.

Speaking with IndieWire about the strike and the prospect of AI setting up shop at the studios, Seth Rogen said, “I think the prospect of artificial intelligence writing things is horrifying…and the fact that they seem to be digging in on [it] is more horrifying…You’d have to shove a lot of weed in that thing [for it to write good TV].” One of the key topics of the WGA strike–the first since the one in 2007-2008, which lasted just over three months–involves studio usage of artificial intelligence, which guild members obviously don’t want to see taking their jobs.

Another key issue of the strike concerns financial compensation, which Seth Rogen also had thoughts on. “In general, the fact that these studios are able to kind of band together to drive down the wages of their workers is horrible. Thank god for labor unions. I think I’ve been in four unions for around 20 years. I’m always in favor of every strike that you can go on. Studios will never act fairly or equitably without being forced to.”

One of Seth Rogen’s collaborators, Judd Apatow, has also made his feelings about the strike quite clear, saying the studios even have a clear date of when they plan to end it. Apatow has directed Rogen three times before: in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Funny People.

Seth Rogen can next be seen on Apple TV+’s Platonic, which premieres on May 24th. Interestingly, Rogen spoke out against how streaming services release their viewership numbers. “I’m personally very disturbed and distressed by the lack of information that I personally get from these streaming services that we have films and television shows on…I only assume they’re being secretive because they don’t want to let us know how much money they’re making off us and how little of that money they’re giving to us.” That should make for an interesting promotional circuit…

What are your thoughts on Seth Rogen’s feelings about the strike? Do you think artificial intelligence will cost writers their jobs in the industry? Give us your take in the comments section below!