Documentary Filmmakers Grapple with Ethical Use of AI in Storytelling

As Documentary Producers Release Guidelines for Generative AI, a Multi-Year Initiative Begins

TIFF Halts Screenings of 'Russians at War' After Threats to Safety At the Camden International Film Festival, a capital for documentary filmmaking, a group of documentary producers presented its best practice guidelines for using Generative AI in non-fiction filmmaking, also announcing further educational efforts. The Archival Producers Alliance (APA) -- founded in 2023 and made up of over 300 researchers, producers, and award-winning filmmakers -- has outlined industry guardrails for the ethical use of AI as it relates to the usage of archival materials, like historical photographs to video footage, commonly used in non-fiction filmmaking. The group has previously presented its guidelines in a working format, soliciting feedback from fellow documentary filmmakers, but is now presenting its final recommendations. Among other points, the best practices include a push for the use of primary source materials, but, when AI is used, considerations for algorithmic bias and usages of a watermark or other clear disclosures for audiences when an image was generated using AI. In addition to releasing the guidelines, the group announced a multi-year educational initiative that includes a series of talks, panels and workshops across the country with the hope of helping documentary filmmakers ethically navigate using new technologies. The initiative, which will also conduct real-world case studies of using generative AI in the doc field, was launched with funding provided by the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. "Research has been an essential part of bringing the stories in my films to life. The work of the Archival Producers Alliance celebrates looking to the past while embracing the technology of today. Their work will be an essential aid to filmmakers in a new age of storytelling," said Ken Burns of the APA's work in a statement provided to The Hollywood Reporter. The APA's guidelines have been endorsed by individual filmmakers like Burns, as well as organizations like the International Documentary Association, Documentary Producers Alliance, and Alliance of Documentary Editors. "As documentary filmmakers who depend on the integrity of historical archives, and as mentors to younger filmmakers grappling with the threat - and the potential - that generative A.I. presents to their work, we are grateful for these guidelines," said Firelight Films' Stanley Nelson and Marcia Smith (Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool). "We are especially heartened by the attention given to algorithmic bias, which threatens to re-write the past and foreclose on possible futures when it comes to the representation of people of color."

Documentary producers release new ethical AI guidelines for film-makers

Controversies over AI-generated material spurred release of guidelines addressing transparency and historical accuracy Over a year after the dual Hollywood strikes put a spotlight on the industry's adoption of AI, film-makers have often found themselves at a crossroads - how to use generative AI ethically, if at all? Where to draw the line on synthetic material? Documentary film-makers, in particular, have faced mounting concerns over "fake archival" materials such as AI-generated voices, photos or video. As Hollywood continues to adopt artificial intelligence in production, a group of documentary producers have published a groundbreaking set of ethical guidelines to help producers, film-makers, studios, broadcasters and streamers address questions over use of the technology. The Archival Producers Alliance (APA), a volunteer group of over 300 documentary producers and researchers formed in response to concerns over the use of generative AI in nonfiction film, developed the guidelines over the course of a year, after publishing an open letter in the Hollywood Reporter demanding more guardrails for the industry. The guidelines, announced at the Camden Film Festival, are not intended to dismiss the possibilities of a technology that is already shaping all forms of visual storytelling, but to "to reaffirm the journalistic values that the documentary community has long held". "In a world where it is becoming difficult to distinguish between a real photograph and a generated one, we believe it's absolutely pivotal to understand the ways generative AI could impact nonfiction storytelling," said Stephanie Jenkins, APA's co-director, in a statement. Dozens of prominent documentary film organizations endorsed the guidelines at launch, including the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA) and the International Documentary Association (IDA), as well as over 50 individual film-makers such as Michael Moore, Ken Burns and Rory Kennedy. "Documentary is a truth-seeking art practice, but the nature of truth has always been mutable," Dominic Willsdon, executive director of the IDA, said. "GenAI will bring all sorts of new and profound mutations, some fruitful, some harmful." APA's guidelines "can help the documentary field navigate this first phase of wider AI adoption". Rather than rejecting the use of generative AI outright, the group encourages consideration based in four overarching principles: the value of primary sources, transparency, legal considerations and ethical considerations of creating human simulations. Documentary film-makers, according to the guidelines, should think about how synthetic material could muddy the historical record; consider the algorithmic biases encoded in synthetic material; preserve the original form or medium of a source and alert the audience if something has been changed, using text or visual cues; and treat image generation with the same intentionality, care for accuracy and sensitivity as they would traditional recreation or re-enactment. "While there are great creative possibilities for this technology, without consideration of its potential risks, artificial content entering documentaries could permanently erode the trust between film-maker and audience, and muddy the historical record," said Rachel Antell, APA co-director whose credits include the Oscar-nominated film Crip Camp. The guidelines follow a number of controversies about AI in documentary, such as an deepfake of Anthony Bourdain's voice in Roadrunner and allegations of AI-generated "archival" photos in the Netflix documentary What Jennifer Did. The guidelines stress transparency internally - with production teams, legal counsel, insurance companies, distributors, streamers and subjects - as well as with audiences. "The cornerstone of the guidelines is transparency. Audiences should understand what they are seeing and hearing - whether it's authentic media or AI generated," said the APA co-director Jennifer Petrucelli. For further transparency, the APA suggests including GenAI tools, creators and companies in the credits, similar to how archival footage and music are recognized. And the guidelines specifically address the use of human simulations - commonly known as "deepfakes" - in nonfiction film, a hot-button topic given the technology's use for misinformation online. The group is "excited by the possibilities that emerging technologies will bring - especially for stories that have been overlooked, purposefully suppressed or not recorded in any fashion". AI-generated human simulations, they noted, could help protect the identity of documentary subjects whose participation puts them at risk, as in David France's 2020 film Welcome to Chechnya, which used AI to disguise persecuted LGBTQ+ people in Russia, or in Another Body, which used an AI veil to hide a victim of deepfake revenge porn. "Far from being diminished by the challenges posed by GenAI, there is great potential to enhance documentaries of all kinds by responsibly harnessing this new technology, the guidelines note. "That said, we reaffirm the value of human labor and discernment in the production process." The hope is that with the introduction and adoption of these standards, documentary film-making "will continue to be an engaging, reliable, and most of all, trusted form of audio-visual storytelling that records human history and expresses human experience. "The possibilities of GenAI are limitless - but there are some burdens only filmmakers can carry."