There’s no arguing the use of artificial intelligence in film-making is getting a bad rap. Last week’s unveiling of Hollywood’s first AI “actress”, Tilly Norwood, generated howls of protest from actors’ unions across the UK and US, where the industry is still reeling from last year’s 118-day strike over, among other issues, the threat of AI.
And earlier this week, Australia’s Productivity Commission was pilloried by Liberals and Greens alike for failing to recognise the dire impact AI may have on the country’s creative industries.
In May, during heated discussions at the Cannes film festival, the industry was warned it was on a slippery slope, with AI threatening jobs, copyright protections and the integrity of the creative process.
But the film industry is far from united against AI; not everyone believes its rapid advance is eroding the very essence of human storytelling. “The wave is coming and it’s impossible to stop it,” one producer told a Cannes roundtable. “Our only option is to surf on it.”
