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Former Marvel TV boss (and writer) Jeph Loeb explains why he has no fear of AI taking writing jobs

Knowing its limitations takes a bit of the sting from it.

Marvel's Netflix stars with Jeph Loeb — Image credit: ReedPop/Getty Images

Features by Trent Cannon, Contributing writer

Published on Wed Jul 03 2024

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The ongoing debate about the use of AI in art doesn’t look like it is going to end anytime soon. So long as there is a need for writing, acting, or art, there will be someone out there trying to use AI to help them cut corners. When asked about this new technology and its impact on the creative industry, Jeph Loeb had plenty to say on the subject.

The question came about during Jeph Loeb’s panel at MCM London in May 2024. Considering his multiple decades writing for TV, film, and comic books – including the best Arnold Schwarzenegger dialogue of all time – it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that Loeb is skeptical of AI’s usefulness in writing. “I do not believe that a machine is ever going to be able to understand emotion on any level.”

Loeb was quick to point out the limitations of AI models like ChatGPT; namely, what he thinks they can produce and where they fall short. “The plot, yes, but not the story, and I will tell you the difference between the two of them – and it’s not mine, it’s Mike Nichols – which is ‘The queen died, and then the king died.’ That’s the plot. ‘The queen died, and then the king died of a broken heart.’ That’s the story. That’s what AI will never understand. So, I have no fear of it.”

It is a succinct explanation of how technology like AI may or may not influence art in the coming years, especially from someone who, by his own admission, struggles to use his iPhone.

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