Hollywood Writer Cycles Through 7 AI Gigs in 3 Months as Pay Falls to $16 an Hour
Updated
Updated · WIRED · May 11
Hollywood Writer Cycles Through 7 AI Gigs in 3 Months as Pay Falls to $16 an Hour
14 articles · Updated · WIRED · May 11
Seven projects across four platforms hired and then abruptly dropped one Hollywood writer between February and April 2026, illustrating how AI-training work became a stopgap after post-strike TV income dried up.
Pay that once dangled at $150 an hour for some experts often translated into unstable, stop-start work, unpaid onboarding and sudden task shortages; by late 2025 and early 2026, some jobs had fallen to $16 an hour.
Mercor and similar firms marketed flexibility, but workers described constant Slack monitoring, late-night task rushes, shifting scoring rules and instant off-boarding, conditions now cited in lawsuits alleging contractor misclassification.
The writer says many taskers were experienced professionals, including other Hollywood writers, competing for finite assignments under young managers while projects vanished without warning and online forums filled with anger over pay cuts and firings.
Mercor said it tries to give as much notice as possible when projects change, but the account portrays a growing AI labor system that relies on thousands of disposable contractors to train models while offering few protections.
With Hollywood's crisis pushing creatives into AI work, is this the blueprint for how automation will devalue skilled labor?
As AI agents gain economic autonomy, why are the humans training them facing plummeting wages and digital precarity?
AI companies are valued at billions, so why is their safety training causing moral injury to a hidden human workforce?
Hollywood’s Collapse: 41,000 Jobs Lost, AI Training Gigs Surge, and the Battle for Creative Work (2024–2026)
Overview
Between 2024 and 2026, Hollywood experienced a severe job market collapse, with significant job losses and a dramatic shift in production dynamics. Los Angeles shoot days dropped sharply, and about 41,000 entertainment workers left the industry. Although nearly 15,000 jobs were added in 2024, these gains could not make up for the earlier losses. The financial strain on those who remained was intense, as traditional roles disappeared and many workers turned to unstable, low-paying AI training gigs. This transformation highlights the growing impact of AI on Hollywood’s workforce and the challenges facing creative professionals.