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Business / a year ago
Hollywood Writers Threaten to Strike, Outsourcing of Jokes to Robots Imminent
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As the Writers Guild of America face a potential strike, a leading IT company reveals its preparation to deploy robot joke writers throughout Hollywood, sparking concerns of outsourcing jokes to machines.
As the Writers Guild of America (WGA) faces a potential strike on 2 May, with union members blaming flat wages and dwindling healthcare coverage, a leading IT company has released a statement revealing it is preparing to deploy robot joke writers throughout the entertainment industry. Rumours of an impending spring strike had focused on the education, airline and broadcast sectors, and the IT firm Sensing Gloomy Possibilities For Satire (SGPFS) embraced these rumors and quickly formed a team to create the first robot to write a joke. The initial result, which was tested in March, was a one-liner, delivered straight to camera: “Why did the chicken go to McDonald’s? Because it wanted a milkshake.” Paul Etaoinssen, the head of the robot team at SGPFS, said: “It was our first go. We hadn’t quite finished the process. It sounds simple now, but in just over a month the algorithm has successfully self-corrected and we can now release a robot that can write a sketch, a joke and an entire screenplay." A major Hollywood studio was reportedly horrified, however, when the robot's efforts were tested: the AI created an x-rated episode of Sesame Street on its first attempt at full-script writing. It later emerged that the programmers had intentionally set the algorithm to deliver racy material. "We decided to have a little fun with the boss during testing,” said one of the technicians, who preferred to remain anonymous. "We never imagined the bot would really deliver. But actually it works – full intelligence at low speed.” Indeed, it has since emerged that all the writers on SNL will be replaced by robots, who can be programmed to write appropriate content rather than creating inappropriate material after a staff-Christmas-party night out.
posted a year ago

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Original title: Writers Guild of America launches strike after negotiations fail

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