James Cameron Warns AI Could Replace Actors, Calls It ‘Horrifying’

The legendary filmmaker, James Cameron, who is known for his films that have become box office triumphs, expressed his strong disagreement with the use of generative AI in filmmaking even before the release of his next movie, Avatar: Fire and Ash. The director of Avatar, who had a very important part in making the film visually stunning, claimed that technology should help, not take the actors' place.

In an interview on CBS' Sunday Morning, Cameron reminisced about the long-standing issue of Hollywood’s misconceptions regarding his use of CGI. “Even way before generative AI came into being, there was this never-ending rumor that we were digitally replacing actors. The truth is our collaboration is celebrating between actors and directors,” the director continued.

Cameron was not ready to stop when it came to the tech dilemma—it was the creation of performances from nothing which gave him worry. “Generative AI can make a copy of an actor, create a performance, and animate a character—all from a text prompt. To me, that is a very troubling thing. It goes against what we are trying to accomplish in storytelling,” he added.

The whole issue of AI's position in the film industry has been thrown into the spotlight when the comedian and producer Eline Van der Velden heralded Tilly Norwood, a completely AI-generated actress, during the Zurich Summit last September. The reveal was met with veterans' critics from the industry who were worried about the upcoming era of non-human actors.

Nevertheless, the comedian still has a positive view of AI's contribution to cinema that can be demonstrated in her continuous collaboration with Van der Velden. The future of making movies with AI support was the focus of her talk with Variety: "AI will be a significant partner in visual effects, from establishing shots to second-unit filming, and eventually AI-assisted films will be a reality.”