By
Mayowa Adebajo
February 13th, 2024
In addition to the product manager role, Netflix wants to hire a Technical Director for generative AI at its gaming studio.
Amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike nearing its second week, streaming media company Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) is looking to hire AI developers. Interestingly, the company is seeking expertise in artificial intelligence at a time actors and writers are fighting for fair compensation and protections from AI enrichment.
The American actors’ union Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) began a strike over labor disputes with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on the 14th of July, 2023. The fight coincides with a strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA), and it is the first time since 1960 that actors and writers will strike simultaneously. The primary point of contention in the negotiation between AMPTP vs. SAG & WGA is the use of AI in film and television production. This includes using the technology to write scripts, generate actors’ likenesses, or substitute paying creatives.
Netflix Lists AI Jobs Worth $900,000
Despite the ongoing walkout, Netflix wants to employ AI developers to fill the Product Manager and Technical Director Roles. According to the Product Manager job posting for its Machine Learning Platform, Netflix noted:
“The Machine Learning Platform (MLP) provides the foundation for all of this innovation. It offers ML/AI practitioners across Netflix the means to achieve the highest possible impact with their work by making it easy to develop, deploy and improve their machine-learning models. We are creating a new Product Management role to increase the leverage of our Machine Learning Platform.”
Separately, Netflix noted how it plans to utilize AI in a “machine learning” section on its website. The company explained that it will use the emerging technology to shape its catalog of movies and TV shows “by learning characteristics that make content successful. In addition, Netflix said it will use machine learning, a branch of AI, to optimize video and audio recording. The media giant revealed that “using machine learning pervasively across Netflix brings many new challenges” which requires pushing forward the state-of-the-art.”
In addition to the product manager role, Netflix wants to hire a Technical Director for generative AI at its gaming studio. Notably, generative AI can produce text, images, and video from input data, which is useful in creating original ad content. Before the AI jobs listings, Netflix premiered a reality dating series that portrays the use of artificial intelligence. The company created “deepfake” simulations using scans of contestants’ faces and bodies in the series, Deep Fake Love. The gaming department has also utilized AI to produce dialogue and narratives.
Netflix is offering six figures salaries for the AI job roles. While the Technical Director’s pay is between $450,000 – $650,000, the Product Manager may receive between $300,000 and $900,000.