The Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings said people don't want to see robots playing basketball. AI disruption was a major theme in the 2023 Hollywood strikes.
There’s an ongoing debate about whether AI’s going to take your jobbut have you ever considered becoming an actor?
Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings said entertainment jobs may be safer than others from AI disruption, on the April 22 episode of the “Possible” podcast, co-hosted by LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger, Hoffman’s chief of staff.
On the episode, Finger asked Hastings which industries and professions he thought would be most affected by AI. He replied: “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 entertainment industry is grappling with AI’s potential future impact, from job security to production techniques. AI disruption was a major theme in the 2023 Hollywood strikesas writers and actors cited concerns that the technology could threaten their jobs.
Later in the episode, Hastings said he thought AI will make aspects of entertainment production cheaper, such as special effects, but anything in the “emotional realm” won’t be as disrupted, because people continue paying to watch real actors and people they recognize.
However, he added that it remains to be seen whether young people will only consume content on TikTok and won’t watch longer-form Netflix content.
In April 2026, Netflix announced that Hastings, who co-founded the company in 1997, was not seeking reelection to Netflix’s board and would be leaving the company. It said Hastings was going to instead focus on “philanthropy and other pursuits.”
Ted Sarandosone of Netflix’s CEO’s, echoed Hastings statements on AI and the power of human creativity in a 2024 interview with The New York Times. He said: “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.”