Hacks Creators Reject AI in Creative Work Across 5 Seasons, Warning It Cuts Jobs
Updated
Updated · WIRED · May 12
Hacks Creators Reject AI in Creative Work Across 5 Seasons, Warning It Cuts Jobs
3 articles · Updated · WIRED · May 12
Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello said they do not use AI “in any way, shape, or form” and will not work with creatives who use it.
AI, they argued, is being forced on Hollywood to minimize talent, strip away the hard thinking central to art, and let studios replace writers, VFX teams and other workers.
Aniello called AI-generated creative work “slop culture” that remixes existing ideas instead of producing anything new, while Downs said removing struggle from comedy makes it “not art.”
Their comments came in a WIRED interview ahead of the Hacks finale, where the pair also tied the show’s themes to media consolidation, censorship and the growing power of tech over entertainment.
Across 5 seasons, Hacks has mirrored industry anxieties from late-night censorship to disappearing streaming titles, with its creators casting AI as the latest threat to human-made culture.
As media giants merge and embrace AI, is the era of risky, artist-driven television officially over?
With AI-art denied copyright, will human creativity become Hollywood's most valuable, legally protected asset?