Reed Hastings says the entertainment industry will be the least affected by AI
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Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix in the late 1990s. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images 2026-04-24T12:18:35.991Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.
Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Reed Hastings said he thinks the entertainment will be the industry least affected by AI. He said audiences are drawn to human conflict and don't want to watch robots play basketball. Hastings' comments come as the entertainment industry grapples with disruption from AI. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. How is AI affecting production techniques? How does AI impact job security in entertainment? How does human conflict attract audiences? What industries will AI impact most? What are AI's limitations in entertainment? There's an ongoing debate about whether AI's going to take your job, but have you ever considered becoming an actor? Loading audio narration... 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 strikes, as 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 Sarandos, one 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."