Workers in the creative sector could be “cheated” out of valuable entry-level employment experience as generative artificial intelligence threatens to disrupt traditional gateway roles, according to new research from Massey University.

A pilot study by 10 academics conducted 10 one-hour interviews with industry representatives, including filmmakers, musicians, design agencies and digital artists.

They found generative AI tools are being used throughout the sector for low-value administrative tasks, and to replace the low-paid, freelance and unpaid labour traditionally used to build portfolios, credentials and professional networks.

One interviewee described generative AI as replacing “the work people do to get a foot in the door”.

But associate professor Dave Carter said one of the most surprising findings was that although interviewees were concerned about the displacement of paid roles, they could not identify any specific examples of this happening.

“I think some of us were expecting a bloodbath in terms of job losses based on what we had read from overseas,” Carter said, “but that wasn’t the case.

“In fact, many of the interviewees were very cautious about when and how they used AI tools.”

Many of the interviewees said they see AI as a time saver, enabling productivity gains, but having no noticeable impact on profitability, the study found.

Most interviewees said they would not deploy AI outputs commercially without extensive human review.

Gwen Isaac, an independent filmmaker and senior lecturer in screen arts at Massey University’s Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, said the study provided valuable information for educators working with the next generation of creatives.

“We embarked on this pilot study because it would be a huge mistake to be a passive receiver of big tech’s plans for our sector,” she said.

“My films are made with mostly tiny and inexperienced teams that benefit from being able to use AI tools in certain instances, but paradoxically, by not subcontracting, we are then cheating someone out of a valuable entry-level employment experience.”

Issac said it was a “double bind” that needed “exposing, interrogating and resolving” to build capacity for isolated creative sectors.