Hollywood elites secretly met to discuss AI in film, and now they have their first answer
A plan for AI in film is already here.
Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard by David McNew/Getty Images
- Hollywood and Silicon Valley leaders held secret talks on AI in filmmaking for three years.
- Kathleen Kennedy and Susan Ruskin started the meetings to address AI’s role in the film industry.
- The group proposed a framework separating limited AI-assisted workflows from films created entirely by AI.
- Hollywood remains divided, with some artists warning against AI while others build or use AI tools.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Blockbuster filmmakers, A-list actors, and the world’s top technologists have been meeting in secret for 3 years to discuss AI and filmmaking. And now a plan has gone public.
These discussions started in 2023, when film producer and president of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, and the dean of the American Film Institute, Susan Ruskin, set up talks between Hollywood actors, directors, and Silicon Valley’s finest.
These celebrities, tech moguls, and industry leaders have been meeting in secret, without anyone from the press or the public uncovering this top-secret AI roundtable.
With the aim of addressing one of the world’s most pressing challenges. How do we deal with AI in our industry?
While journalists from The Ankler were present at some of the meetings, they couldn’t reveal the precise guest list.
However, reporters did say the room was filled with industry titans with the power to shape the future of filmmaking.
The question: “How can AI enter the filmmaking process?” Still leaves even the industry's greatest minds with more questions than answers.
However, the team seems to have agreed on one small area: that all AI isn’t made equal.
AI is so broad that it encompasses everything from post-production tools to AI capable of creating entire synthetic scenes.
So, the team concluded that a new framework is needed to differentiate between “human generative workflows,” where AI tools play a small role, and films created entirely using AI.
This document, regarded as “a map and not a switch,” outlines appropriate use cases, according to The Ankler.
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Hollywood doesn’t have a clear answer
In Hollywood, opinions on AI and its use in filmmaking are overwhelmingly split.
Legendary director Christopher Nolan has openly criticized the use of AI in film, declaring Gen Z filmmakers are “utterly rejecting” what we understand as “AI slop.”
Whereas Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds has been caught reading scripts partially written by ChatGPT for his Mint Mobile ads.
But the situation isn’t simply black and white, as other A-listers like Ben Affleck have been vocal about the negative impact of AI voice cloning while selling his AI post-production start-up InterPostive to Netflix for nearly $600 million.
Many others have a different approach. In conversation with Marty Supreme star Timothee Chalamet, Interstellar’s Matthew McConaughey acknowledged that AI is here to stay while urging artists to “own yourselves” and your likeness.
