Judy Greer and Kara Swisher Take on AI Fears, Streaming’s Impact and Maturing on Screen: ‘I Have Loved This Section of My Life’

Actor Judy Greer and journalist and TV host Kara Swisher went right for it as soon as they sat down.

The pair took AI fears, maturing on screen and assessing how the dawn of streaming has changed Hollywood’s traditional compensation models during a conversation held at the SHE Media Co-lab space at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas on March 15.

Greer was at the festival as part of the rollout for the indie drama “Chili Finger,” a true-crime tale revolving around a scam plot gone wrong. She stars opposite Sean Astin, Bryan Cranston and others. Greer described the jobs picture in Hollywood as “scary” for people in the early stages of their careers.

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“In the dawn of all the streaming television, we’ve already lost a lot of money. We don’t get those residuals anymore. People who relied on those for their health insurance, they don’t have access to that anymore. And so that’s a big, huge change that we’re trying to figure out,” Greer said. “There’s so many more jobs, but it feels like no one’s working, and now people can’t get their insurance.”

Greer, known for her character turns on “Two and a Half Men,” “Arrested Development” and a host of other TV series and movies, told Swisher that getting older as an actress has been creatively fulfilling. Swisher is a veteran journalist and author and now a TV personality. She is host of the docu-series “Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever,” on the science and understanding of aging, which bows April 11 on CNN.

“I’ve been so happy with the way things have been going for me. The roles I’m getting offered are so much more layered and interesting, and so I have loved this section of my life,” Greer said. “Moving forward, I do tend to see all these older actors, male actors, playing these super-angry villains and stuff. And I would like to see some women playing those roles — being like ‘Retribution!’ I think would be interesting. We would do it in a lot smarter way,” Greer said.

“One of the things that has been freeing as I’ve aged is, I don’t have to adhere to a certain look anymore. I feel that is why the roles are becoming so interesting to me. Even myself — I’m personally not as worried about how I look and being pretty in a movie. I don’t care anymore,” Greer said.

Swisher pressed Greer on the concerns about making a living as a performer in the age of AI.

“Personally, I’m still a bit sheltered from the really scary parts, because I am recognizable. My voice is recognizable. I haven’t had to be scanned [for potential AI reproductions], things like that,” Greer said. “People at my level and above, it’s really our duty to fight for the middle class of what I do. Because people who are background artists, people who are day players — they’re the ones that I think are really going to get super-fucked.”

Swisher admitted that she has conflicting feelings about how to handle AI’s rapid advance. Greer agreed.

“If we can’t kill this thing, and I don’t know if we should, how can we use the superpower for good and not evil? is there something that we can use this to like, elevate our art and to elevate artists and like in the way that sort of the iPhone gave a medium to young filmmakers, young people and young artists. Is there a way to utilize the superpower to help creatives?” Greer asked.

(Pictured: Kara Swisher and Judy Greer at the SHE Media Co-lab at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas on March 15.)