AI Takes Over Real Stories Of Job Displacement

They called it an experiment aimed at younger audiences - Mateusz Demski Journalist

Ive been a freelance journalist for 10 years usually writing for magazines and websites about cinema. I presented a morning show on Radio Kraków twice a week for about two years. It was only one part of my work but I really enjoyed it. It was about culture and cinema and featured a range of people from artists to activists. I remember interviewing Ukrainians about the Russian invasion for the first programme I presented back in 2022.

I was let go in August 2024 alongside a dozen coworkers who were also part time. We were told the radio station was having financial problems. I was relatively OK with it as I had other income streams. But a few months later I heard that Radio Kraków was launching programmes hosted by three AI characters. Each had AI generated photographs a biography and a specific personality. They called it an experiment aimed at younger audiences.

One of the first shows they did was a live interview with Polish poet Wisława Szymborska winner of the 1996 Nobel prize for literature who had died 12 years earlier. What are the ethics of using the likeness of a dead person. Szymborska is a symbol of Polish intellectual culture so it caused outrage. I couldnt understand it radio is created by people for other people. We cannot replace our experiences emotions or voices with avatars.

One of my colleagues who was laid off is queer. One of the new AI avatars was called Alex a non binary student and a specialist in queer subjects. In Poland we are still fighting for queer rights and as journalists its incumbent on us to have real representation when reporting on this. For my colleague and the LGBTQ community it was shocking and damaging to hear their lived experience and knowledge being imitated by AI.

Some of us who had been laid off started a petition against the station calling for regulation and to get the AI shows taken off air. We got tens of thousands of people to sign actors journalists artists but also listeners. Hundreds of young people didnt want to listen to an AI show.

The station has since scrapped the avatars largely because of the success of our campaign. Its now student run. The station claim this is about offering mentorship but its also a cheaper alternative to hiring qualified journalists. I guess its better than AI though.

There are still no clear regulations covering its use in Poland. Im not campaigning for regulation because I lost my job to AI Im campaigning because Im worried about the ethics of all of this about misinformation and deceiving listeners. Im a realist Im not completely against AI. I think it can be used responsibly to do the boring bits of our job. But we cant substitute complex thinking with machines. AI cant replace our curiosity creativity or emotional intelligence.

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Even those whove kept their jobs have had their wages reduced - Lina Meilina Illustrator

Lina Meilina: Since AI took off my workload has plummeted. Photograph: Muhammad Fadli/The Guardian

Ive been drawing and painting since I was a kid. Even in kindergarten I was doodling. By elementary school I was drawing comics and my teachers knew I had potential. I have strict traditional parents who told me art wouldnt make me any money but I wanted to follow my dreams. Now I make anime style illustrations and most of my income comes from commissions I draw bespoke characters for clients and also create my own.

Even before AI tools arrived it wasnt easy. Indonesia doesnt take artists seriously and copyright laws are weak. Ive seen people steal my work and put it on merch to sell on retail websites such as AliExpress. I have to get them taken down myself screenshotting pages one by one to report them to the sites admin. Now AI makes it harder to prove ownership because it can take your art and make slight changes so its not a direct copy.

I first learned about generative AI a few years ago watching a YouTuber introduce viewers to the software Midjourney which generates images based on prompts. He asked the program to produce an image in the style of comic book artist Alex Ross. The finished work was good with Rosss distinctive hyper realistic style and colour palette. I remember thinking Oh shit this is going to be a disaster.

Since last year when AI really took off my workload has plummeted. I used to get up to 15 commissions a month now I get around five. People can take your art and feed it into an AI program to create work. A follower of mine recently used AI to portray my characters doing something inappropriate. I tried to report it but the platform said it didnt violate its copyright policy.

One of the main platforms freelance artists use to get work recently launched a campaign called Nobody cares if you use AI encouraging clients and artists to embrace AI tools. Well I care as do a lot of my colleagues.

Even the Indonesian government is using AI art they recently released a video promoting a scheme that provides free lunches for students. Its a great initiative but it breaks my heart that they used AI instead of commissioning a talented Indonesian artist.

I used to work in a small studio as a storyboard artist for TV commercials. Since AI appeared Ive seen colleagues lose jobs because companies are using Midjourney. Even those whove kept their jobs have had their wages reduced and pay in south east Asia is already low.

Maybe my mum was right that I shouldnt be an artist. Ive had to look for other sources of income at the moment I make cosplay props on commission. I love illustrating but if I keep losing clients because of AI Ill probably go into prop making full time.

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I feel devastated for the younger generation its taking all the creative jobs - Annabel Beales Copywriter

Annabel Beales: Losing my dream job was devastating. Photograph: Peter Flude/The Guardian

I landed my dream job in 2023 writing content for a garden centre. I mostly did search engine optimisation and wrote gardening tips for their magazine and blog. My colleagues were friendly and the hours were flexible.

Ive always loved reading and writing. I was brought up on a farm with no television so I was always at the library reading Judy Blume books. If I didnt like the ending I would rewrite it. But I never thought then that I could pursue writing as a career where Im from it was hard to break into anything creative people either worked as nurses or at the local car manufacturer. Even though I wanted to be a writer my mum had always told me to have a back up plan.

Copywriting didnt come to me straight away so I did secretarial work for years and admin roles in the public sector. Id heard of some friends who needed a copywriter for their businesses and I was interested in writing professionally so I enrolled on an online course. It cost a months wages and took eight months to complete but I enjoyed the creativity.

I got the gardening centre job a few months later. Id interview different experts to write blogs on topics such as growing potatoes or planting trees. I threw myself into it and passed my probation.

Around eight months in I noticed I was getting less work. One day I overheard my boss saying to a colleague Just put it in ChatGPT. The marketing department started to use it more often to write their blogs and they were just asking me to proofread. I remember walking around the companys beautiful gardens with my manager and asking him if AI would replace me and he stressed that my job was safe.

Six weeks later I was called to a meeting with HR. They told me they were letting me go immediately. It was just before Christmas. Thankfully I got a temp role doing admin work in January but going back to that after having my dream writing job was devastating.

The companys website is sad to see now. Its all AI generated and factual theres no substance or sense of actually enjoying gardening. AI scares the hell out of me. I feel devastated for the younger generation its taking all the creative jobs.

Im now a PA in cancer research in the university sector. I feel more settled but I regret going into copywriting. I got the job at the gardening centre at a time when my mum was terminally ill. I remember asking her whether I should take it as it would mean I wouldnt be able to spend as much time with her. She told me to follow my dreams and go for it. I thought Id be there for years working as a copywriter until I retired. Looking back I wish I had spent more time with my mum instead.

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Listening to a series Id recorded I heard my character say a line but it wasnt my voice - Richie Tavake Voice Actor

Richie Tavake: When characters are voiced well people relate to them. Photograph: Cayce Clifford/The Guardian

Ive spent 10 years training to be a voice actor. It takes skill its my job to bring honesty to the story I tell. I recently played the main character Jessie in a survival video game. Jessie crash lands on a snowy mountain as his voice I have to consider whether hes injured how he feels and the shock hes in.

My mum encouraged me to try acting classes while I was at university as it was something I had always talked about doing. Immediately I was hooked and after a few semesters I decided to pursue it professionally. I started training seriously while taking customer service jobs to support myself. My first gig in a professional studio was an Animal Farm audio drama in 2023 in which I played Napoleon. It was a great experience to get micd up and perform with a whole cast.

The effect of generative AI in my industry is something Ive felt personally. Recently I was listening to an audio drama series Id recorded and heard my character say a line but it wasnt my voice. I hadnt recorded that section. I contacted the producer who told me he had input my voice into AI software to say the extra line. But he hadnt asked my permission. I later found out he had uploaded my voice to a platform allowing other producers to access it. I requested its removal but it took me a week and I had to speak to five people to get it done.

For more on this topic see Better at everything how AI could make human beings irrelevant.

The Screen Actors Guild SAG AFTRA began a strike last year against certain major video games studios because voice actors were unhappy with the lack of protections against AI. Developers can record actors then AI can use those initial chunks of audio to generate further recordings. Actors dont get paid for any of the extra AI generated stuff and they lose their jobs. Ive seen it happen.

One client told me straight out that they have started using generative AI for their voices because its faster. But when characters are written and voiced well people relate to them. Take Batman who was voiced by the late Kevin Conroy in the animated series. People appreciated his work because he brought the character to life. When done right people will value it and pay money for it.

There is also the issue of diversity. Im American Samoan and I wouldnt be happy to hear a Samoan voice generated by AI it could be inaccurate and even offensive. Its just a bunch of numbers and words imitating a culture I was brought up in. A great example of this is Ghost of Tsushima a video game thats based in Japan. All the cast were of Japanese heritage they were in tune with the culture and they brought so much honesty to the story. AI cant replicate that. Its a machine it doesnt have that background and it never will.

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I never anticipated theyd get rid of me - Jadun Sykes Graphic Designer

Jadun Sykes: My advice Learn as many skills as possible. Photograph: courtesy of Jadun Sykes

As a kid I was always arty sketching making Play Doh sculptures. I studied game design and art at college and went down an Adobe Photoshop rabbit hole. It was fun and I was good at it so I decided to turn it into a career starting at the company when I was 21. They sell a platform that creates landing pages and email layouts. Id design the templates and do bespoke work for clients.

When generative AI came along the company was very vocal about using it as a tool to help clients get creative. As a company that sells digital automation developments in AI fit them well. I knew they were introducing it to do things like writing emails and generating images but I never anticipated theyd get rid of me Id been there six years and was their only graphic designer. My redundancy came totally out of the blue. One day HR told me my role was no longer required as much of my work was being replaced by AI.

I made a YouTube video about my experience. It went viral and I received hundreds of responses from graphic designers in the same boat which made me realise Im not the only victim its happening globally and it takes a huge mental toll. I went to college I studied I did six years of work. Was it all for nothing.

After I was let go I spent months looking for a job. I didnt find work in graphic design but did get a job as a content creator at a PC manufacturer. I make videos of the production line interview staff members and do some social media. Im not worried here my employers dont agree with replacing human roles with AI. I may use it to edit pictures but only to enhance something a human created say to remove cables in the back of a product image. We would never post an image entirely generated by AI which is what my old company is doing. My advice to every graphic designer is to learn as many skills as possible. You have to be prepared.