This book examines the transformative impact of generative AI on cultural production, with particular attention to how technologies such as ChatGPT are reshaping modes of popular cultural creation. Through a comprehensive analysis that brings together perspectives from both the Global North and the Global South, it offers critical insights into AI governance, ethical concerns, and the future of cultural production in increasingly AI-integrated creative environments.

The book traces the trajectory of AI’s development within the cultural industries, beginning with its role at the level of representation in film and moving toward its active involvement in the production of content across a wide range of media, including film, television, music, and animation. In this sense, it analyzes the shift whereby AI has moved from being an object represented within cultural texts to becoming a central tool that intervenes throughout the entire creative process—from pre-production to post-production. The discussion is structured around three key concepts—the “3Cs” of AI-driven cultural production: creativity, control, and credentials. In particular, the book foregrounds the tension between human creative expression and AI-generated content through the concept of “precarious creativity.” It further engages critically with core issues related to labor rights, job security, and creative control within the cultural industries.