Acclaimed Hollywood director James Cameron is known for pushing the envelope when it comes to visual effects. Be it Terminator or the Avatar films, Cameron’s movies are known for their unique cinematic tone and quality, often aided by computer graphics as well as practical effects. So, it should come as no surprise that his recent move to join the board of artifical intelligence company, AI Stability, has left the internet divided.
While a section of the users are surprised and dismayed, others have been more receptive to the idea. Actor and film critic Emmy Potter tweeted, “This is such a bummer. I keep thinking about how [Cameron] cut his teeth making models and other practical effects for [director/producer] Roger Corman and how that kind of human ingenuity is the exact stuff these AI guys completely devalue and want to replace with slop (sic).”
“Cameron has been open about developing new tech to push the industry forward, so it’s not entirely a surprise, but it’s disappointing he’s sacrificing his own self-professed environmental values for the sake of tech that also spits in the face of his own artistic skill building (sic),” read yet another tweet.
One person commented, “Great news, now let’s focus on making ai tools that amplifies human creativity instead of replacing it (sic)!” Another excited fan wrote, “This is great news. I can’t wait to see what his brilliant mind is able to create with AI technology.” Earlier, Cameron released a statement about joining the board of Stability AI and said, “I’ve spent my career seeking out emerging technologies that push the very boundaries of what’s possible, all in the service of telling incredible stories. I was at the forefront of CGI over three decades ago, and I’ve stayed on the cutting edge since. Now, the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave. The convergence of these two totally different engines of creation will unlock new ways for artists to tell stories in ways we could have never imagined. Stability AI is poised to lead this transformation,” Rolling Stone quoted the director as saying.
It should be noted that the use of AI in Hollywood has been an ongoing debate since last year, with writers going on strike and demanding that new technologies shouldn’t be allowed to replicate or use their scripts as a blueprint. Later, actors also joined the strike in order to prevent producers from allowing AI to produce doppelgängers of them.
Recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills which would help protect actors from AI that threatens to affect their work in strategic, effective ways.
