AI is driving exploitation of younger creative workers  

In the focus group discussion, there was anxiety that AI was driving exploitation of the creative workforce, especially young people. 

Brian said: “Young people are always exploited in the creative industries, and this will continue unless we take action. 

“I’ve seen ads, they were asking for Welsh speaking actors in particular, to help AI programmes with the Welsh accent. A company was looking for actors to help train the AI. This was at a rate of £25 per hour.  I had to advise our members against taking the work.  I told them, “You’d be helping a computer replace you! They hadn’t factored that in.” 

Angela agreed saying:

“I’ve heard terrible stories of young people are being duped into acting in workshops without understanding how their image and likeness will be used. They are contributing to their own demise.” 

Kevin, a journalist for a technology magazine and an NUJ member said: 

“I recently saw a recruitment ad for an AI based job which asking the successful applicant to create fifty articles per day, using an AI tool. Their work would supposedly be to write the headlines, to provide images and to re-write as appropriate. The salary was £35,000.  

“The advert caused a controversy. It was setting unrealistic expectations.  It wouldn’t be possible to produce this amount of work, even with AI. The job was taken down. But this is just the start. As AI improves, we’ll see more of this kind of advert.”