The Good Will Hunting star suggested that the technology that has exploded in recent times poses no danger to the industry and could actually be a useful tool.
THE Artificial Intelligence (AI) This is one of the most controversial topics in the entertainment industry in recent years.
In 2023, hundreds of actors, writers and other professionals have joined strikes in Hollywood to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the use of this technology in film and television studios.
However, for the American actor Ben Affleck AI does not pose a threat to the future of the industry.
In the middle of the Delivering Alpha 2024 investor summit, organized by the channel CNBC, the Oscar winner assured that although he agreed that it could have an impact on certain specific areas of cinema, it can also be a complement for creators and viewers.
“Cinema will be one of the last things, if everything is replaced, to be replaced by AI” Affleck said during his speech.
What Ben Affleck said about the future of cinema with AI
At the beginning of his speech, Affleck assured that AI models can imitate or combine elements that already exist, but they cannot create something original and this will be the case for a long time.
“AI can write you excellent imitative verse that sounds Elizabethan, but it can’t write you Shakespeare,” he said. Then he added: “The function of having two actors, three or four actors in a room and the pleasure of discerning and constructing is something that currently completely escapes the capabilities of AI” .
The impact of AI on cinema according to Ben Affleck
According to Affleck’s vision, the role that AI will have in the film industry is that it will influence “the more laborious and less creative aspects” and which will involve more costs, such as visual effects .
“In this world of generative video, AI will accomplish essential things. I wouldn’t want to work in the visual effects industry. “They’re in trouble because what cost a lot of money is now going to cost a lot less,” the star said. Goodwill Huntingadding that this will not only have a negative impact on this sector in the future, but “it already is happening”.
Affleck went on to explain that this technology won’t be able to replace human beings in films, but it will be able to make color corrections and other errors so that re-filming won’t be necessary.
He then described that other associated benefits are that viewers would be able to access more seasons of a series in a single year.
He also referred to personalized content : AI could encourage people, depending on their preferences, to request episodes of series in exchange for money.
“Over time, AI will allow you to order your own episode of Successionwhere you can say “I pay $30 and you give me a 45 minute episode where, for example, Kendall gets company, runs away, and has an affair with Stewie.” And it will. And it will be a little strange,” Affleck argued during the conversation.
The director of Argo He added that AI, at its best, “is a craftsman” that can learn something and imitate it.
“That’s basically how big video models and big language models work,” he said.
The reactions
The performer’s comments did not go unnoticed on social networks and opened an intense debate on the use of AI in entertainment.
“I didn’t expect Ben Affleck to have the clearest and most realistic explanation of where video models and Hollywood are going,” said one X (formerly Twitter) user who shared a recording of the actor’s intervention.
Meanwhile, those who defended him assured that there was for the first time “a grounded vision of AI and cinema” from a recognized actor.
“I agree with everything Ben Affleck said. People say these statements are just wishful thinking. In my opinion, they are based on a clear understanding of the state of the art,” said another user.
What are the positions of other players on AI?
Unlike Affleck, other actors with extensive experience in Hollywood have said they disagree with the presence of AI in their projects.
one of them is Robert Downey Jr. who ensured that would be willing to take legal action if studios used a tech-generated version of his image .
In the same position, he is Nicolas Cage who in a recent interview with The New Yorker revealed that he was afraid that the AI would imitate him after his death. “It’s really scary and I wonder where the artists’ truth will end up.” said.
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
