Spielberg draws line on AI in film as Hollywood battles over creative control and job security

Steven Spielberg Is 'Not For' AI Replacing Creatives - Decrypt

Add Decrypt as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Steven Spielberg may have made a film titled "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," but he hasn't adopted the technology in his filmmaking process, the legendary director told an audience at SXSW 2026. Spielberg, whose filmography includes classics like "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Jaws" and "Jurassic Park," said that he's "never used AI on any of my films yet." While Spielberg is in favor of the technology "in many disciplines," he said, "All the seats are occupied" in his writers' rooms. "There's no empty chair with a laptop on it," he added. The director, who is promoting his forthcoming sci-fi feature "Disclosure Day," came out firmly against using AI for creative tasks, stating that, "I am not for AI if it replaces a creative individual." Spielberg's own films have frequently grappled with the implications of new technology, including AI (in, unsurprisingly, "A.I. Artificial Intelligence") as well as the metaverse in "Ready Player One." For 2002's "Minority Report" the director convened a "think tank summit" of futurists to flesh out its future world -- with several of the technologies they imagined, including iris scanners and "spatial UI," subsequently making their way into the real world. Spielberg's comments come as the entertainment industry continues to grapple with the implications of artificial intelligence, with studios joining a growing chorus accusing AI firms of copyright infringement, even as they experiment with the technology. Last week, Netflix reportedly paid as much as $600 million to acquire InterPositive, an AI startup founded by Ben Affleck that enables filmmakers to alter existing footage. The streaming giant states that it considers generative AI tools as "valuable creative aids when used transparently and responsibly," having first used the technology to generate VFX in a show last year. In December, actors and directors including Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett, and Guillermo del Toro lent their weight to the Creators Coalition on AI, in a push for enforceable standards on the use of AI throughout the industry. And just last month, AMC Theatres blocked an AI-generated short film from screening at its cinemas as part of pre-roll advertising, suggesting that the debate over AI -- and audiences' appetite for the technology -- has a long way to go before being resolved.

In Hollywood, AI's no match for creativity, say top executives

Austin (AFP) - Artificial intelligence is transforming Hollywood at a pace that has sent shockwaves through creative industries, but human creativity will always prevail, a leading executive at the cutting edge of that change told AFP. The disruption was a dominant theme at this week's South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas where veteran director Steven Spielberg made clear he was drawing a line in the sand. "I've never used AI on any of my films yet. We have a writer's room. All the seats are occupied," Spielberg said. "I am not for AI if it replaces a creative individual." Joshua Davies, chief innovation officer of Artlist -- a Tel Aviv-based AI video platform that has most recently been positioning itself as a supplier of creative tools to filmmakers -- told AFP the technology would never eclipse the human creative. If given the choice between something made using an AI toold by a techie and a creative, "I know which one I would rather watch at the end," said Davies, who founded video editing software company FXhome before it was acquired by Artlist in 2021. Davies acknowledged the industry's anxiety was not unfounded, with new video models having "struck fear in the hearts of everybody" -- not just over copyright and personality infringement, but over the fundamental question of how film and television production will look in a matter of years. "If I was bringing out an Iron Man movie in 2027, 2028 -- would I be going to multiple visual effects houses, would I expect them to be utilizing AI? We're all kind of working out our way through that," he said. Davies described the platform's AI video tools as a way to "fill in the bits that you can't shoot, or didn't shoot, or you don't have the budget to shoot," rather than a wholesale substitution for going out on location. 'Holy grail' Yet the timing is charged. Editors, visual effects artists and other Hollywood professions have watched the rapid advance of generative AI with alarm, fearing that tools capable of producing broadcast-quality footage at a fraction of traditional costs could hollow out entire job categories. Major studios are actively evaluating how AI can be integrated into production pipelines, foreshadowing significant workforce changes across an industry that has already endured a bruising period following the covid pandemic and writers' and actors' strikes of 2023. Artlist made headlines in February when it produced a Super Bowl LX spot in under five days using its own products, at a fraction of the multi-million-dollar cost typical of Big Game advertising. Davies was keen to push back on the narrative that the ad represented the future of production without human involvement. That wasn't what it was, he said. It was creatives "using the tool to get the very best out of it." A self-described "techie guy," Davies said the platform's current obsession is on giving creators nuanced control over creating or editing footage -- something he described as the company's "holy grail." Existing models, he said, handle simple static shots reasonably well but struggle with complex camera movements and consistent performance across multiple takes. You can prompt an elaborate shot, but for now "you'll get something random" that you can't work with. On cost, Davies cautioned against unrealistic expectations, suggesting AI would reduce production expenses significantly but not eliminate them. Davies said his long-term hope was that AI would serve as a leveling force for independent filmmakers and content creators who currently lack the budgets to realize their ambitions. "There are definitely YouTubers who make some of the best action work out there on no budget," he said. "AI will level that playing field completely -- the story will be what matters." He struck a cautiously optimistic note on the creative industry's direction, dismissing the most dystopian predictions. "The idea that no one works at the end of it is the bit that doesn't hold any water with me," he said. "There's been more and more of everything, not less and less -- and the cream rises to the top anyway, because the human element is what we crave."

Lights, Camera, Algorithm as AI Joins the Film Crew | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. "I am honored to be the last human host of the Academy Awards," he said, adding that next year's host would be "a Waymo in a tux." The quip drew laughs from those at the Dolby Theatre, but also reflected reality. Artificial intelligence is now being actively deployed in Hollywood studios, and the pace of change is outstripping the ability to establish clear rules. The question is no longer if AI will transform filmmaking, but how much, how fast, and on whose terms. AI is used across the industry at many production stages, from concept art generation and script coverage to VFX pipeline work and post-production editing. Google, Runway and ByteDance have all released new AI video models in 2026, aiming to accelerate a market in which creators can use AI tools to produce entertainment content at a fraction of traditional cost and time. According to The Conversation, AI systems are increasingly used to "assist with visual effects, editing and script analysis," helping filmmakers manage complex production pipelines and experiment with new creative techniques. Generative AI can produce storyboards, concept images and preliminary visual environments before cameras begin rolling. Major entertainment companies are also beginning to invest directly in AI filmmaking technologies. As reported by PYMNTS, Netflix recently acquired InterPositive, an AI filmmaking company founded by Ben Affleck that develops tools to support post-production tasks such as editing and visual effects adjustments. Technology companies are also forming partnerships with studios to expand generative video capabilities. OpenAI recently announced a partnership with Disney that will allow the studio's characters and intellectual property to be used within its Sora video generation platform, highlighting a licensing model that could allow media companies to participate in the development of generative video tools. Not every AI video model has found its footing so gracefully. Concerns over copyright have intensified as generative video models become capable of producing realistic footage that resembles existing actors and film scenes. One recent example involves ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 video generation system. The company launched the model in China earlier this year, where short AI-generated clips quickly went viral online. Some of those clips reportedly included fabricated scenes showing actors such as Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in a fictional fight sequence, drawing criticism from Hollywood studios. As reported by TechCrunch, the clips sparked immediate backlash across the film industry. Studios responded by sending ByteDance a series of cease-and-desist letters, with lawyers representing Disney accusing the company of a "virtual smash-and-grab of Disney's IP," as reported by TechCrunch. The backlash ultimately forced ByteDance to pause its planned global rollout of the Seedance 2.0 model while engineers and legal teams work to implement stronger intellectual property safeguards. The copyright issue extends beyond a single model. Industry groups argue that generative video systems capable of producing photorealistic scenes may be trained on copyrighted film and television content without licensing agreements or compensation. The labor side of Hollywood's AI debate remains unresolved as studios experiment with new technologies while unions push for stronger protections. SAG-AFTRA began formal negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in February 2026, with AI safeguards among the central issues. As reported by Axios, the two sides agreed to a one-week extension of talks on March 6, signaling cautious optimism even as tensions rise ahead of the union's contract expiration on June 30. Among the union's proposals is a "Tilly tax," which would require studios to pay royalty fees whenever AI-generated performers appear in productions, a mechanism intended to make synthetic actors financially comparable to hiring real performers. While studios and unions negotiate AI rules, an ongoing debate centers on how AI could fundamentally alter the entertainment landscape. Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist, believes that the rise of AI-generated content could shift audience preferences toward live experiences that showcase human performance. In a post on X, Ohanian argued that AI will significantly alter Hollywood and acting, prompting a shift toward in-person storytelling and immersive events as audiences seek more authentic human connections.

AI Is Everywhere -- All the Time -- at Hong Kong's Filmart

As Hollywood remains locked in labor and legal battles over generative AI, Filmart is showcasing Asia's increasingly full-throated embrace of the technology as both a foregone conclusion and the industry's next growth engine -- with 28 talks devoted to the subject this year. While Hollywood's unions and studios are engaged in an ongoing power struggle over AI's future role in filmed entertainment, Asia's screen industries are rushing toward a full embrace of the technology. For an indication of the region's stance on AI's rapidly evolving role in screen entertainment, look no further than the 2026 lineup at Hong Kong's Filmart, Asia's leading content market and media industry convention. Not long ago, Filmart's popular seminar series was populated by top studio executives from Hollywood and China, each side keen on the potential for doing business together in the traditional realm of theatrical film. But as geopolitics has cast a pall over collaboration between the world's two largest film markets in recent years, such executives have mostly vacated the scene at Filmart. Instead, perhaps unsurprisingly, the event's organizers have pivoted toward the technologies and formats purported to be the industry's next sources of growth, if not demise: AI, vertical microdramas -- and, well, more AI. Across Filmart's keynote and panel discussion lineup this year -- which runs March 17-20 in tandem with the event's content sales convention -- there are no fewer than 28 talks devoted to artificial intelligence. Subjects covered include AI in screenwriting, AI optimization of production workflows, AI in animation, AI for pre-vis, AI product demos, presentations of AI-made movies and much else. Just one of the two dozen-plus talks devoted to AI touches on a cautionary topic, or a potential downside of unrestrained AI use in the entertainment sector: the copyright infringement risks of AI-generated content. "AI is transforming film and entertainment content production and reshaping the future of storytelling," says Candas Yeung, an associate director at the HKTDC, Filmart's organizers. "Reports indicate that a significant majority of movies now utilise some form of this technology during production. For 2026, we are diving deep into this world. We want to promote AI adoption and foster collaboration between content creators and technology specialists." None of the U.S. studio majors will be presenting at Filmart this year other than Warner Bros. Discovery, but executives from tech players like Google, Alibaba and Midjourney will publicly discuss subjects like balancing cinematic craft with generative AI, while a long roster of China's leading AI startups -- Kling, Minimax, ShengShu AI, TapNow AI and more -- have been given a place of prominence at the event. "One of our key goals for Filmart this year is to demonstrate the transformative power of generative AI and its seamless integration into production workflows," says Zeng Yushen, head of operations at Kling AI, which is hosting a dedicated AI workshop at Filmart's new AI hub. "As Asia's premier entertainment marketplace, Filmart offers an unparalleled platform to engage with the world's leading studios and content creators. We would like to leverage this opportunity to meet potential partners in the industry and explore how technology and storytelling can converge to drive the next era of cinema." Launched by Chinese short-video giant Kuaishou in June 2024, Kling AI has quickly emerged as one of Asia's highest-profile generative-video platforms, offering text-to-video and image-to-video tools aimed at everyone from casual creators to professional film, TV and advertising teams. Kuaishou says Kling had attracted more than 60 million creators worldwide by the end of 2025 and generated over 600 million videos, while outside estimates have pegged the platform at roughly 12 million monthly active users. Among its early showcase projects, Kling has highlighted work with Timeaxis Studio on the hit Chinese period drama Swords Into Plowshares, where the tool was used to build dynamic territorial maps and accelerate effects-heavy previs, including cutting a storm-sequence simulation timeline from two months to two weeks. As in the Hollywood creative community, many in Asia's film business are deeply anxious about their livelihoods and the changes AI will bring to the art form that has been their life's work. Korean industry elder statesman Park Chan-wook's latest critically acclaimed feature, No Other Choice (2025), culminates in a trenchant dystopian vision of the degrading and inhumane AI endgame for working people. But unlike in Hollywood, Asia's screen industries operate without organized unions to negotiate on film workers' behalf. As a result, market forces and AI boosterism -- rather than strategic safeguards negotiated through collective bargaining -- are the factors most likely to shape how AI disrupts and embeds itself in the region's film sector. Adds the HKTDC's Yeung: "This year's focus on new formats and collaboration, including AI, short drama, and co-production, reflects where the industry is heading -- attendees are encouraged to engage with these trends and explore how they can enhance their businesses and projects."