Creating good, original films is the best defence against AI, Tilda Swinton has said.
The Oscar-winning actress warned that the industry would need to “watch out” if it did not diversify from “formulaic” films.
Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, Swinton, 65, addressed the issue of the emerging technology in Hollywood, saying: “Cinema is going nowhere.”
But the We Need to Talk About Kevin star warned: “I believe as long as what we’re not producing is formulaic and in some way tiring for the audience, [then] AI doesn’t have a chance, but as long as we continue to do that, then we have to watch out.
“What we need to do… is what only humans can do. Make messy, adventurous experiences, so that an audience does not know what’s coming next and enjoys that experience.”
Swinton, who won a best supporting actress Academy Award for her role as a corporate attorney in 2007 film Michael Clayton, described cinema as “elastic, robust and so dedicated to evolution”.
She said: “Humans make cinema, and humans are malleable and elastic and evolving all the time. And so, as such, cinema is safe. Just don’t watch the numbers … I’m never worried.”
Elsewhere in the talk, the actress, who has also starred in the blockbuster Marvel movies, was asked about the Academy’s decision to ban performances and scripts produced by AI from its awards in an attempt to protect the film industry.
Swinton responded that she “cannot get past” the idea that an actor or actress would need to “prove” they are human, and not technology.
She said: “Yes, you have to prove that your script’s not written by AI… but what you’re saying [about] you having to prove that you are a human?
“I mean, I feel this should be the byline for the festival of Cannes, and all cultural festivals, all cultural endeavours, let’s prove we’re humans. That’s what we’re here to do, it’s our task to prove that we’re human and also to prove that we can improve on AI – which, by the way, is not going to be hard. We just have to put our minds to it.”
Her comments come after Sir Peter Jackson said last week that he found it unfair that AI-generated characters could not be nominated for Academy Awards.
The Lord of the Rings director entered the debate while at the Cannes Film Festival to receive an honorary Palme d’Or, saying he thinks using AI in film-making is “no different to any other tools” used in the industry over the years.
The Academy introduced the rules barring the nomination of AI actors and screenplays on May 2, stating that only acting “demonstrably performed by humans” and writing that is “human-authored” will be allowed to win an Oscar.
The decision was partly fuelled by the posthumous use of an AI-generated likeness of Val Kilmer in As Deep as the Grave, a forthcoming Western.