Final week, actor and director Ben Affleck shared his views on AI’s position in filmmaking throughout the 2024 CNBC Delivering Alpha investor summit, arguing that AI fashions will remodel visible results however will not exchange inventive filmmaking anytime quickly. A video clip of Affleck’s opinion started circulating broadly on social media not lengthy after.
“Didn’t count on Ben Affleck to have probably the most articulate and life like rationalization the place video fashions and Hollywood goes,” wrote one X consumer.
Within the clip, Affleck spoke of present AI fashions’ skills as imitators and conceptual translators—mimics which are usually higher at translating one type into one other as a substitute of originating deeply inventive materials.
“AI can write wonderful imitative verse, nevertheless it can not write Shakespeare,” Affleck instructed CNBC’s David Faber. “The perform of getting two, three, or 4 actors in a room and the style to discern and assemble that completely eludes AI’s functionality.”
Affleck sees AI fashions as “craftsmen” moderately than artists (though some would possibly discover the time period “craftsman” in his analogy considerably imprecise). He defined that whereas AI can study via imitation—like a craftsman finding out furniture-making methods—it lacks the inventive judgment that defines artistry. “Craftsman is figuring out easy methods to work. Artwork is figuring out when to cease,” he stated.
“It is not going to switch human beings making movies,” Affleck acknowledged. As a substitute, he sees AI taking up “the extra laborious, much less inventive and extra pricey facets of filmmaking,” which may decrease limitations to entry and make it simpler for rising filmmakers to create films like Good Will Looking.
Movies will turn out to be dramatically cheaper to make
Whereas it might appear on its floor like Affleck was attacking generative AI capabilities within the tech business, he additionally didn’t deny the affect it might have on filmmaking. For instance, he predicted that AI would cut back prices and pace up manufacturing schedules, probably permitting reveals like HBO’s Home of the Dragon to launch two seasons in the identical interval because it takes to make one.
