Weekly Column: The Two Sides of AI in Hollywood and Sports

In his capacity as a Columnist for California Sports Lawyer®, Founder and Managing Attorney Jeremy Evans has written a column about the role of artificial intelligence in entertainment, media, and sports through the lens of data, labor, and critical-thinking.

You can read the full column below.

Often when thinking about the impact of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in entertainment, media, and sports, there are two areas of application. The first is in AI that assists with data collection, analysis, and then using that data to help make a decision. The decision could be as simple as recommending certain shows or sports to a viewer or as complicated as whether to cancel a program based on customer views, engagement, and feedback.

The second area of AI is whether it impacts front office employees or executives. AI has the ability to take possibly mundane work or even complicated work and turning it into a task that can be completed immediately with sometimes more accuracy. As AI and technology increase to become even more generative and “human-like” in thinking, it will likely be used more often.

Ideally, there is a balance met between AI and humans where the worker is assisted by AI to complete work more efficiently, while also learning the steps to get to the answer. Generative AI would be best served where humans can use it as a tool. The concern is that as technology advances, things that are beautiful and worth preserving are lost in time.

For example, as great as the keyboard, computers, the internet, and Microsoft Word are for writing and research, there was a time where handwriting was cherished and practiced as an art form. The library was a place to explore with fewer distractions and to meet people. Critical thinking and exploration was not a matter of ChatGPT inputs and outputs, but a process or interviews with people, life experience, and research.

On the other hand, generative AI and technology advancements have also driven change to change the world. The printing press, the internet, and AI have all provided more information to more people than ever before. Where people will have a difficult time is dissecting and understanding massive amounts of information or data and possibly that is the role for AI.

Where people begin to rely more and more on AI programs, generative or not, the more people need to be trained on how to properly use those programs. However, possibly more or equally important, is that the AI is properly trained with inputs. The worst thing to harm a hypothesis, data, information, or research is a system that is biased towards wanting to be right or to just give an answer. AI lacks in the ability of discretion, an innate human ability driven by moral lessons and experience that cannot be replicated in a program input.

It is possible that AI could learn and adapt, but the question to come is whether humans want or need that. In the meantime, Amazon will continue to push AI into its sports broadcasts, which in amazing fashion turns a Thursday Night Football game into a video game overlay on the screen with gadgets and analysis. Another question will be what impact AI has on union labor in Hollywood as AI grows in influence and connectivity.

About Jeremy M. Evans:

Jeremy M. Evans is the Chief Entrepreneur Officer, Founder & Managing Attorney at California Sports Lawyer®, representing entertainment, media, and sports clients in contractual, intellectual property, and dealmaking matters. Evans is an award-winning attorney and industry leader based in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California. He can be reached at Jeremy@CSLlegal.com. www.CSLlegal.com.