Hi ,
“Why would you go out and shoot an establishing shot of a house in a television show when you could just create the establishing shot for $100?” - Ashton Kutcher
Last week, Ashton Kutcher courted controversy by suggesting that, at some point in the near future, AI will be used to generate entire films, and prior to that, AI will be used in movies to create stunt sequences and establishing shots.
This inevitably created a social media backlash, as X users raced to point out the inevitable job losses that would result from the use of AI in film and TV, and call for consumers and filmmakers to reject AI.
The unfortunate truth, though, is that, whether you like it or not, Kutcher is probably right.
Here's the thing...
Nobody wants anyone to lose their jobs to machines, and I, for one, don't have any interest in watching a purely AI-generated movie, but that doesn't mean it's not going to happen.
Hollywood is a business, just like any other, and if there is a market for AI-generated movies, or filmmakers believe money could be saved by using AI in other aspects of film production, then that's what will undoubtedly occur.
Two days after making his initial remarks, Kutcher responded to the backlash by
posting the following on X:
"I don't think AI will replace the film industry or creative arts. It's an amazing tool that we should learn to work with to become more prolific and efficient as artist. In the same way we use Avid, final draft, greenscreen, Led bg and other technical tools. Acting like it doesn't exist will be catastrophic.
Jobs will change, denying that is turning a blind eye to facts. There use to be someone that taped the film together. There use to be someone that checked the gate.
We need to be prepared and understand what's coming."
This is advice that applies to us all, not just those working in film.
AI is going to change the world and the worst thing you can do is pretend this isn't true.
The question is what are you going to do about it?
Talk again soon,
Dr Genevieve Hayes.
