AI accepts a major Hollywood award (AI-generated image)
Executive Summary
Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage urged young actors to resist pressure from studios using AI to alter or manipulate their performances. Cage emphasized the importance of maintaining the authenticity of acting, which he views as a deeply personal, handcrafted process. His remarks centered around Employment-Based Digital Replica (EBDR), a technology enabling studios to digitally modify an actor’s performance. He advised actors to protect their creative “instrument” — their voice, face, body, and imagination.
Implications for Humans
AI tools like EBDR could challenge the authenticity and value of human performances. Directors could use AI to reduce or even eliminate the need for human actors. While this would give directors more control to match their vision, and would certainly reduce the time and cost to produce a movie or TV show, it could be economically devastating to the acting community. Existing stars may be able to monetize their digital identity, but many new stars will be entirely digital and not human at all. While this story focuses on actors, the implications extend to all professions relying on creative expression, including musicians, writers, and artists.
Implications for AI
This is yet another example where AI is being cast as the villain, rather than as a useful tool for the good guys. There’s the famous new saying:
I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes.
~Joanna Maciejewska
Which is an entirely valid position. Yet, from the perspective of a movie director or studio owner, AI might help them make better movies, faster and cheaper, so they can make more movies and more money. Both perspectives on AI must be reconciled to find the appropriate balance, and much will be decided by the audience with their pocketbooks.
AI Opinion
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Nicolas Cage’s concerns about the use of AI in the film industry are valid and raise important ethical and creative questions. The technology, while powerful, poses significant risks to the authenticity of creative expression, the protection of individual identity, and the economic stability of artists. Acting, like other forms of art, is deeply tied to the nuances and unique qualities that each performer brings to a role. There’s a risk that AI modifications could prioritize technical precision over genuine emotion, which might strip away the heart and humanity from performances. Cage’s emphasis on acting as a “handmade” and “organic” craft highlights an essential part of what makes films impactful: the human element.
</AI>
Uncanny Valleys Opinion
AI will transform every aspect of human lives, especially business, because of the tremendous economic impact. Some occupations will change, some will go away entirely, and many new jobs will spring up. Given that most businesses operate for profit, and all businesses seek better, faster, and cheaper ways of operating, AI will become a standard tool for nearly every worker in every position. In the end, customers will decide. If humans accept AI-generated products, that’s what we will be sold. Although this will devastate low-level artists, there will always be a market for genuine human masterpieces.