Leonardo DiCaprio recently shared his reservations about the artistic value of artificial intelligence in Hollywood.
In an interview with Time, which named him its entertainer of the year, the actor said he was concerned about job losses as studios explore new uses of AI.
He said he "mourns the fact that talented and experienced people could lose their jobs" but argued that software cannot replicate human expression.
He said AI might help with technical tasks but cannot create real art.
"It could be an enhancement tool for a young filmmaker to do something we've never seen before," he said.
DiCaprio drew a comparison to AI-generated musical mashups, which can be "absolutely brilliant" but ultimately fleeting.
"It gets its 15 minutes of fame, and it just dissipates into the ether of other internet junk," he said.
"There's no anchoring to it. There's no humanity to it, as brilliant as it is," DiCaprio added.
His comments follow a series of statements from filmmakers who reject the use of generative tools in creative decision-making.
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro criticized AI during a speech at the Gotham Awards and has repeatedly stated that the technology has no place in his process.
Speaking to NPR, he said, "AI, particularly generative AI — I am not interested, nor will I ever be interested. I'm 61, and I hope to be able to remain uninterested in using it at all until I croak.
"The other day, somebody wrote me an email [and] said, 'What is your stance on AI?' And my answer was very short: I said, 'I'd rather die.'"
Director-producer James Cameron has also limited the use of AI in his productions.
He told ComicBook.com that generative systems were prohibited during work on upcoming "Avatar" installments.
He said he did it because he wants to support actors.
"We honor and celebrate actors. We don't replace actors," Cameron said.
Meanwhile, Oscar-winning screenwriter Emma Thompson voiced her "intense irritation" with AI, particularly its impact on the writing process.
Appearing on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert, Thompson, who won her Academy Award for adapting "Sense & Sensibility," shared her outrage over AI chatbots attempting to rewrite her work.
"Because I write longhand on a pad, old script actually, because I believe that there is a connection between the brain and the hand," she explained.
The final straw for Thompson is when her word processor intervenes.
"And recently, the Word document is constantly saying, 'Would you like me to rewrite that for you?' And so I end up just saying, 'I don't need you to rewrite what I've just written, will you f*** off?!'"
"'Just f*** off!' I'm so annoyed," she said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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