Terminator director James Cameron says the concept of AI changing actors is ‘terrifying’
The filmmaker admitted that he fears people might think movies like his Avatar franchise used artificial intelligence. He said he’s determined not to ‘replace actors’
Terminator director James Cameron says the idea of AI replacing actors is “horrifying”. The filmmaker fears people might think flicks like his Avatar franchise used bots.
He used actors and later digitised their performances using CGI. The Oscar-winner said: “You’ve got generative AI, where they can make up a character, they can make up an actor. They can make up a performance from scratch with a text prompt.
“It’s like, no. That’s horrifying to me. That’s the opposite. That’s exactly what we’re not doing. I don’t want a computer doing what I pride myself on being able to do with actors.
“I don’t want to replace actors, I love working with actors.”
Cameron sits on the board of Stability AI and has previously admitted looking into how bots could cut the cost of making a blockbuster in half. He said: “Right now, imaginative films, fantastic films, science-fiction films — they’re starting to die off as a breed because they’re expensive and the theatrical marketplace has contracted, and now studios are only comfortable spending those kinds of dollar amounts with blue-chip IP, that which we’ve seen, that which we know.
“I mean, a movie like Avatar would never get made in that environment. That was brand-new IP; nobody had ever heard of it.”
And he doesn’t think generative AI would undermine his work, but rather will make filmmakers push themselves more. He said: “It might [undermine the work], but it also causes us to have to set our bar to a very disciplined level, and to continue to be out-of-the-box imaginative … what generative AI can’t do is create something new that’s never been seen.”
His comments come after Jenna Ortega said she reckons AI “has no soul” and no place in filmmaking. The Wednesday star said the problem with the tech is it “just isn’t able to replicate” humans. And she believes audiences will ultimately grow fed up and “sick” of AI over its failure to capture genuine human qualities.
Jenna, 23, said: “It’s very easy to be terrified. I know I am in times like this of deep uncertainty. And it kind of feels like we’ve opened up a Pandora’s Box.”
She added: “There’s certain things that AI just isn’t able to replicate, and yes, there’s beautiful, difficult mistakes, and a computer can’t do that.
“A computer has no soul, and it’s nothing that we would ever be able to resonate with or relate to.” The actress made her remarks at the Marrakech Film Festival in Morocco.
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