"AI is Taking Over the World… so I may as Well Just go Along with it:” Fractured Perceptions among Creative Workers

Whereas many experts believe that fears about AI are wildly overblown, catastrophic predictions are commonplace. Concerns may be particularly prevalent in US creative industries following high-profile labor negotiations around AI-related issues. Although many experts believe AI is most likely to augment rather than eliminate jobs in these fields, this is not true (or equally true) for all kinds of creative work. At the same time, perceptions of its potential effects can vary dramatically, even among people in similar job roles, depending on how the future of AI is imagined in relation to their labor and economic interests. Drawing on interviews with 50 creative workers, we ask, how does the anticipation of – or actual experience with – AI exacerbate perceived differences in interests among occupationally heterogeneous creative workers? We find that these workers fall into three ideal types: the “Hardly Worried” view themselves as uniquely insulated from the detrimental consequences of AI, while the “Heartbroken” respondents were concerned that they are about to lose beloved career options. The third group, “Hired Guns,” were often aware of the risks of AI, and how it could be used, but viewed the training or implementation of AI as an opportunity to make fast and easy money or as providing them with new career opportunities. As a result, we argue that efforts to organize these workers, or to rein in how AI can be used, may require addressing larger issues of discordant AI perceptions and financial inequity.