News Disneyland Laying Off 100 Salaried Cast Members

[coffeefan]

AI is and will be used for analytical purposes, for example analyzing medical imaging to look for abnormalities that would otherwise be missed by human eyes.

So it won't be used to outright replace all medical professionals but it will replace many of the medical techs who read scans now.

Its a tool, and it should be seen as such, to help take labor intensive tasks and make them easier. This has been happening for the last 50 years of computers, this is just the next evolution.

I think most don't have issue with it being used as tool, but do have a problem with AI being used to replace people. Aside from there being many examples of AI being unreliable, in this economy, we literally have more people looking for work than we have jobs available. And that's a societal failure on many fronts, because people blindly follow the elite class, in this case the tech giants.

Separately, the BBC has today published research into audience use and perceptions of AI assistants for News. This shows that many people trust AI assistants to be accurate - with just over a third of UK adults saying that they trust AI to produce accurate summaries, rising to almost half for people under-35.

The findings raise major concerns. Many people assume AI summaries of news content are accurate, when they are not; and when they see errors, they blame news providers as well as AI developers – even if those mistakes are a product of the AI assistant. Ultimately, these errors could negatively impact people’s trust in news and news brands.

Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory

An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Disney Irish]

I think most don't have issue with it being used as tool, but do have a problem with AI being used to replace people. Aside from there being many examples of AI being unreliable, in this economy, we literally have more people looking for work than we have jobs available. And that's a societal failure on many fronts, because people blindly follow the elite class, in this case the tech giants.

Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory

An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC

www.bbc.co.uk

Lets not go down that rabbit hole as it will lead to things we're not suppose to talk about in the open forum.

I will just say that AI is as reliable as the models it pulls from. As time goes on those models will get better and more accurate, and its happening very very quickly. So trust in the results isn't actually misplaced, its just ahead of the curve. Give it about 12-24 months and you'll see that the vast majority of results will be closer to being 95-99% accurate compared to today.

 

[DLR92]

AI is not capable of ID plants or animals properly especially sub variations within species. LOL

 

[Disney Irish]

AI is not capable of ID plants or animals properly especially sub variations within species. LOL

For now... Funny you mention this, I know some groups working on improving those models right now.

 

[Parteecia]

I will just say that AI is as reliable as the models it pulls from. As time goes on those models will get better and more accurate, and its happening very very quickly. So trust in the results isn't actually misplaced, its just ahead of the curve. Give it about 12-24 months and you'll see that the vast majority of results will be closer to being 95-99% accurate compared to today.

As AI feeds on its own creations the hallucinations multiply.

 

[Disney Irish]

As AI feeds on its own creations the hallucinations multiply.

That assumes the AI models themselves are ingesting its own creations, which the good models are being designed not to in order to prevent that.

 

[Professortango1]

But in 2025, if your "work" involves sitting at home in your pajamas with an occasional Zoom meeting, then AI is coming for you fast. Perhaps learn a skilled trade?

All trades are replaced with technology. Most people are not working jobs because they want to be a tradesman, they are working jobs because capitalism requires us to. When automation replaces the worker, it isn't the fault of the worker. It is the greed of the business owners.

 

[Disney Irish]

But in 2025, if your "work" involves sitting at home in your pajamas with an occasional Zoom meeting, then AI is coming for you fast. Perhaps learn a skilled trade?

How many years ago did you retire?

You obviously are still out-of-touch with the current work force working in corporate America today. Most corporate workers who are very skilled whether working in an office or at home are on Zoom or Teams or whatever other meeting tool they want to use and not all huddled around a conference table. Last statistic I saw was that 70% or more of Fortune 500 companies use meeting tools like Zoom and Teams for every meeting. And that is because all of them are global companies where not every person is all in the same office. Meeting tools like Zoom and Teams lead to better productivity overall because you don't have to wait until the next day to get a response to an email, you can just get on a meeting call and discuss immediately.

 

[Disney Vault]

It isn't just the 100 salaried cast members being affected.

Photopass has had their hours slashed. Both in the park and the photopass central location outside the park. Along with the the ticketing team which was trimmed and moved next to lost and found. Plus the disability service team, attractions non essential positions have been cut, as well as merchandise team. They already previously got rid of most mobile order locations for shopping but now all the candy shop locations have also gotten rid of mobile order (poohs corner, Bing bings, trolley treats...)

Disney must really be worried with the forecasted bookings

 

[TP2000]

When automation replaces the worker, it isn't the fault of the worker. It is the greed of the business owners.

That's an interesting thought. It then begs the question... if automation and technological advance in search of profits are bad, at what point in human history should we have tried to stop it? And who stops it? A government committee?

And after that committee is formed, at which point in technological advancement should the brakes have been applied?...

At the invention of the cotton gin? The steam engine? The long distance railroads for cargo and passengers? The radio and the talking picture? The transistor? Civilian jetliners? The microchip? The word processor and email? Should the internet have been allowed to be adopted by civilians, or should it have stayed a closely guarded government tool only?

If the internet was kept as a government only tool, there would be no Amazon invented in 1998 and hundreds of now-dead shopping malls and big box stores would still be open across the country.

If a business owner selling a new product or service is considered "greed" and bad, then who decides which new idea or new invention is allowed to be sold and then used by society and its citizenry?

 

[TP2000]

It isn't just the 100 salaried cast members being affected.

Photopass has had their hours slashed. Both in the park and the photopass central location outside the park. Along with the the ticketing team which was trimmed and moved next to lost and found. Plus the disability service team, attractions non essential positions have been cut, as well as merchandise team. They already previously got rid of most mobile order locations for shopping but now all the candy shop locations have also gotten rid of mobile order (poohs corner, Bing bings, trolley treats...)

Disney must really be worried with the forecasted bookings

Interesting. On my point above about when to stop technological advancement, it seems they are cutting back on and getting rid of products and services that are no longer being used by the park's customers at a profitable level. The classic case for layoffs and downsizing; not enough customers any more for the older products they are selling.

The ticketing and "disability service team" have been replaced with Apps and iPhones all purchased by the customers. How many people are still walking up to Disneyland on a Saturday morning with cash and ask to buy 4 tickets to Disneyland?

I'm amazed Photopass even still exists, much less made it as far into the Selfie Era as it did. You can now add Tinkerbell to your own photos in front of the Castle, no upcharge service and human photographers needed.

Etc., etc.

 

[Disney Irish]

That's an interesting thought. It then begs the question... if automation and technological advance in search of profits are bad, at what point in human history should we have tried to stop it? And who stops it? A government committee?

And after that committee is formed, at which point in technological advancement should the brakes have been applied?...

At the invention of the cotton gin? The steam engine? The long distance railroads for cargo and passengers? The radio and the talking picture? The transistor? Civilian jetliners? The microchip? The word processor and email? Should the internet have been allowed to be adopted by civilians, or should it have stayed a closely guarded government tool only?

If the internet was kept as a government only tool, there would be no Amazon invented in 1998 and hundreds of now-dead shopping malls and big box stores would still be open across the country.

If a business owner selling a new product or service is considered "greed" and bad, then who decides which new idea or new invention is allowed to be sold and then used by society and its citizenry?

How about flip that around, how many technological advancements in human history were made just for altruistic purposes?

 

[TP2000]

How about flip that around, how many technological advancements in human history were made just for altruistic purposes?

Hard to say. The Polio vaccine? Didn't Dr. Salk give up his patent to that one? I thought I read that.

Probably not much. What's the point? It's not quite cocktail time here, so I'm going in to this rather stoically.

 

[Disney Irish]

Hard to say. The Polio vaccine? Didn't Dr. Salk give up his patent to that one? I thought I read that.

Probably not much. What's the point? It's not quite cocktail time here, so I'm going in to this rather stoically.

The answer is zero.

The point is that its not that profit motive is bad, its just that no matter what someone (in the case the worker) is always going to suffer as a result of that advancement. Its been true since the beginning human history. And as true as that is we always adapt as a species, and we will in this case too with AI. New opportunities, new industries, and new jobs always rise to offset any displacement that happens.

 

[TP2000]

The answer is zero.

I went to Google. Dr. Salk would like a word with you...

The point is that its not that profit motive is bad, its just that no matter what someone (in the case the worker) is always going to suffer as a result of that advancement. Its been true since the beginning human history. And as true as that is we always adapt as a species, and we will in this case too with AI. New opportunities, new industries, and new jobs always rise to offset any displacement that happens.

I agree with you. But I was not responding to you, I was responding to @Professortango1 who used the word "greed" to describe the profit motive in a free market capitalist economy.

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, and is seen as bad. If he didn't mean to use "greed", he can correct his phrasing if need be. Until then, my point stands....

At what point in technological advancement do you stop allowing new ideas and new products to be sold to a society of free consumers, in order to avoid "greed"? Is there a societal benefit to still selling PhotoPass products with a huge staff if the product has been replaced with newer technology?

 

[Disney Irish]

I went to Google. Dr. Salk would like a word with you...

Salk used previous work of those like Enders, Weller, and Robbins to come up with the Polio vaccine but he himself didn't invent anything new to advance society.

I agree with you. But I was not responding to you, I was responding to @Professortango1 who used the word "greed" to describe the profit motive in a free market capitalist economy.

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, and is seen as bad. If he didn't mean to use "greed", he can correct his phrasing if need be. Until then, my point stands....

At what point in technological advancement do you stop allowing new ideas and new products to be sold to a society of free consumers, in order to avoid "greed"? Is there a societal benefit to still selling PhotoPass products with a huge staff if the product has been replaced with newer technology?

I'll let him speak for himself here. But greed is a great motivator for technological advancements. But in turn it is not the fault of someone who is displaced as a result of it. So its not fair to say "learn a skilled trade" as you did, because many skilled workers who actually did learn a skilled trade are or will be displaced because of AI. So its a flippant response you've given to a very complex issue.

 

[TP2000]

Salk used previous work of those like Enders, Weller, and Robbins to come up with the Polio vaccine but he himself didn't invent anything new to advance society.

I also heard he was a real bore at parties, and often forgot birthdays. Salk was a loser, and anyone could've beaten Polio.

 

[Disney Irish]

I also heard he was a real bore at parties, and often forgot birthdays. Salk was a loser, and anyone could've beaten Polio.

No one called him a loser, but we were talking about technological advancements. And while the Polio vaccine was important, it in itself was not a technological advancement as it was based on technology created by others.

 

[Alice a]

Here’s an example of AI doing a ‘basic’ job that it fails miserably at, that anyone who hires through Indeed has probably encountered:

When you place a premium posting so you can pull candidates directly, it won’t let you send them a personalized message anymore, only an AI one that you can’t edit.

It’s so ridiculously generic, that most candidates delete it as spam, since you’re trying to reach people who aren’t necessarily job-hunting.

I have deleted dozens sent to me before I realized that they were legitimate.

This used to be something you could do yourself- send a message (with premium) that hey! I love your background and here’s why you should consider working at my hardware store.

Don’t know if Disney uses Indeed, but AI does not do nuance, and nuance is important in many cases.

 

[Professortango1]

That's an interesting thought. It then begs the question... if automation and technological advance in search of profits are bad, at what point in human history should we have tried to stop it? And who stops it? A government committee?

And after that committee is formed, at which point in technological advancement should the brakes have been applied?...

At the invention of the cotton gin? The steam engine? The long distance railroads for cargo and passengers? The radio and the talking picture? The transistor? Civilian jetliners? The microchip? The word processor and email? Should the internet have been allowed to be adopted by civilians, or should it have stayed a closely guarded government tool only?

If the internet was kept as a government only tool, there would be no Amazon invented in 1998 and hundreds of now-dead shopping malls and big box stores would still be open across the country.

If a business owner selling a new product or service is considered "greed" and bad, then who decides which new idea or new invention is allowed to be sold and then used by society and its citizenry?

I would argue that capitalism requires social guard rails to help determine what level of advancement should be adopted and which ones are harmful to society. This is why we have...or had...an EPA and other such agencies, because capitalism's ultimate goal is to make the most money with the lowest cost; aka exploitation of factors, including human workforce.

For example, using projection in a play because there's an effect that is the best impact for the audience. Now, when that same company says "oh, we can replace the entire set with projection to avoid having to hire scenic designer," that "advancement" isn't being made for the benefit of the audience. The theatre isn't going to lower their ticket pricing because their costs went down. The show experience is reduced, artists are replaced, and the main driving force was cutting costs by eliminating trade professionals.

A purely Capitalist world would be nothing but automated warehouses and server farms. No brick and mortar stores to waste funds on, AI creating digital content for people to consume. Not a world I want to live in.