The Reckoning: The Earthquake Beneath our Feat

They will not sound the alarm. There will be no sirens, no president at the podium, no historic headline in bold font. And yet the earthquake has already begun.

You can feel it if you’re paying attention—the hum beneath the stage. The trembling of a long-settled ground. The rules are breaking, not suddenly, but systemically. Entire industries that once dictated taste, craft, and meaning are being unseated not by revolt, but by code.

This is the quiet apocalypse of entertainment.

The rise of artificial intelligence marks one of humanity’s most extraordinary achievements. But beneath this monumental feat are quiet tremors—signals of both promise and peril. We may not yet see where they lead, but we must begin to ask what they mean.

For the first time in history, a machine can sing with a dead man’s voice, mimic the brushstroke of a master, and write a script quicker than a screenwriter can pour their coffee. AI isn’t just accelerating the creative process—it’s eroding the foundations beneath it. The sacred assumption that art must be made by humans is no longer assumed. The idea that talent needs time, tools, and toil is no longer a given. And the line between imitation and originality? Vanishing like a mist in morning heat.

In 2023, Goldman Sachs projected that AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs worldwide.

That includes much of the entertainment sector—voice actors, editors, illustrators, background performers, even composers. In other words, the artist is no longer sacred. The artist is now optional.

Some call this innovation. Others call it obliteration. But I’d like to call it what it is: a reckoning. Good or bad, it is now inevitable—the proverbial genie of AI will not be going back in the bottle. So, whether we’re about to see wishes granted or curses inflicted, either way we’d better brace for the supernatural.

This reckoning is more than technological. It is philosophical. If we do not know what makes art human, we will not know what is being lost. Or worse—we will not care. 

As with the reckoning of any industry, Hollywood will not collapse in a single moment. But its pillars are cracking. The question is not whether the structure will shift. The question is who will still be standing when the dust settles.

Next time: The Great Unnerving – How AI Threatens the Soul of Storytelling