Netflix co-founder named one industry AI won't disrupt

Most predictions about AI's impact on employment focus on which jobs will disappear first. Reed Hastings, who co-founded Netflix in 1997, is making a different argument that entertainment may be the sector best insulated from AI disruption, and his reasoning goes beyond the usual defence of human creativity.

Speaking on the Possible podcast, hosted by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and his chief of staff Aria Finger, Hastings was asked which professions he expected AI to hit hardest and which it would largely spare.

His answer was direct: "The least affected, I think, will be entertainment. You're not going to watch a basketball game of robots. We like the human conflict, and that draws us in."

The point is not based on any lack of capabilities on the part of artificial intelligence but rather on human nature itself. Individuals pay attention to sports, drama, and performance precisely because of the seriousness of the situations and the fact that the people involved are real.

The human element of entertainment is what Hastings sees as being unalterable, as opposed to a product of increased artificial intelligence.

Hastings did not assert that there is no way at all for artificial intelligence to influence entertainment. According to Hastings, the technology will make the production cheaper, particularly in visual effects and post-production savings, which are already underway in the industry.

The difference that Hastings made here is that between the industrial aspect of film production and the emotional aspect of film entertainment.

That view aligns with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, who made a similar case in a 2024 interview with The New York Times: "I don't believe that an AI program is going to write a better screenplay than a great writer or is going to replace a great performance or that we won't be able to tell the difference."

This problem was raised by Hastings as he pointed out the factor which might affect the whole situation. In other words, the main issue is whether younger people would continue watching longer videos or choose to watch short videos on social media like TikTok instead of full-length movies or TV shows, which is important for Netflix, regardless of the influence of AI.