I think (just like the invention of any new technology) that AI will be used as a tool to produce cinema at higher quality and faster speeds, but humans will ultimately still be needed to do that work. Before digital animation was created, live-action and stop-motion films were the main tools used to make cinema. Animation has definitely made it so actors don’t need to film shots, but they are still needed for voice acting and people are still needed to create the animation. Instead of this technology taking over productions, it simply made a different genre of film and made more jobs for those with these specific skills. Photographs, digital editing, and recordings have allowed the immortality of actors and celebrities as their pictures and voice can still be used in any media. We are currently in a period where we aren’t sure of all the capabilities that AI can do, which is why those who are in cinema and film creation are worried. However, with the effort that people are going through with striking, and the overall conversation around the morality of AI, regulations will be created so that there are still jobs for people and actors will be compensated for any impersonations.
Holly Willis argued a fear toward the AI technology “… the ability for anyone – amateurs and professionals alike – to create a screenplay and conjure the likeness of an existing actor means that the skills once specific to writers and the likeness that an actor once could uniquely call his or her own are now readily available – with questionable quality, to be sure – to anyone with access to these free online tools.” Just like with any other technology that allows for creation, these AI technologies will be monetized. So, while they are technically available for use by anyone, not everyone will have enough funding to afford the technology to create at home cinema. This class itself pays $12 a month just to use Runway and creation is limited! No one is going to make ground-breaking cinema with these restrictions. And I personally like that the playing field is now “leveled” with AI technology. I like that someone can be creative at home without needing to go through the route of high-cost college, or networking through Hollywood in order to have access to such creative technology.