The impact of generative ai on theatre and film labour: union precedent, precarious work and policy responses across Hollywood, the UK and Nollywood

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is reshaping creative labour across global entertainment sectors, with distinct consequences for theatre and film professions. This article examines how AI impacts actors, playwrights, designers and technical workers in Hollywood, UK theatre and Nollywood, focusing on low-paid, gig-based and non-union workers who are most vulnerable to displacement and devaluation. Drawing on the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, UK Equity’s AI guidelines, and the absence of policy in Nollywood, it argues that collective bargaining outcomes are becoming the de facto precedent for negotiations, despite uneven institutional coverage. Using document analysis of union contracts, policy statements and case studies from 2023-2026, including the Royal Shakespeare Company and emerging Nollywood AI practices, the study analyses four areas of impact: performance roles, writing, design and technical roles, and the structural divide between union and non-union workers. Without explicit consent and compensation rules, transparency requirements and funding-linked staffing standards, AI will concentrate benefits and externalise costs onto the most precarious workers. Policy recommendations are tailored to the institutional capacities of each context.