What are your thoughts on the risks and opportunities of AI Cinema?
AI provides many tools for the average person to be able to make a film on a budget, without access to professional industry resources. From scriptwriting, pre-production, special effects, audience analysis, and distribution, AI can greatly assist and streamline the entire process. This is a tremendous development for an industry that has historically had a very high barrier for entry—and with tremendous developments come a multitude of risks and opportunities, all of which are valid and should be approached with cautious optimism.
What do these tools mean for the future of Hollywood entertainment and for independent artists working in the industry?
Having AI tools at your disposal for filmmaking means that you no longer need a huge chunk of money and fancy equipment to make a film. This is great for independent artists who may be struggling with getting a big enough budget and high-spec gear, by lowering the historically high barrier for entry into the industry and democratizing the whole process. There is even potential for such independent artists to produce quality demos or trailers that they could then pitch to a large-scale production company to have them bring in the big bucks and develop the film to give it the blockbuster treatment.
That being said, Hollywood professionals who have built their whole career on specializing in just one, maybe two parts of the whole process may find their jobs exceedingly taken over by AI, which has the capacity to heavily assist in all parts of the process for a much lower cost. I would hope that these professionals are not driven out entirely by an industry that favors low cost—instead, I think they should be allowed to continue their work as they have been, while using AI tools to assist them. They are professionals, after all—experience in an industry and a specific craft is a very valuable thing. Once again, I am inclined to think that humans should be centered in all conversations about AI and its applications, as losing a job you’ve developed your whole career in would be a huge shock to anyone, regardless of the reason.