AI: reality catches up with cinema

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As AI takes center stage, imposing its presence on more and more software and social networks, artists are worried. On strike since last May, Hollywood is taking fright at the future that AI holds for the world of cinema. But when will it really happen?

AI and the film industry: a dream partnership?

Since its birth almost 130 years ago, cinema has evolved along with technology, to offer ever more accomplished films. With the arrival of artificial intelligence, it was easy to expect a new revolution.

AI at the service of the film

The use of artificial intelligence in cinema is far from recent. We can go back as far as the 90s tosee the first algorithms helping to create films. A number of AIs were programmed to help create digital special effects, notably for the creation of synthetic crowds and extras,as was the case for The Lord of the Rings or more recently in the Game of Thrones series. Over time, AI has taken on an ever-greater scope, going beyond the very realm of special effects. The Greenlight essential company has designed an algorithm for screenwriters, capable of proposing the best combination of ideas for a strong plot.

While the use of artificial intelligence in cinema was relatively unknown to the general public in its early days, in recent years its use has received a great deal of media attention.

Reality imagined by science fiction

For some years now, AI has been used to manipulate both image and sound. While it can be an asset when creating new faces or voices, and thus giving birth to creatures from a fantasy world, it also makes it possible to render those who are familiar to us eternal.

A number of companies, such as United Voice Artist and Respeecher, have succeeded in restoring the voices of iconic characters from the famous Star Wars franchise, making it possible to hear a young Luke Skywalker again, or to rediscover the cult voice of Darth Vader.

The same goes for Deepfake. Introduced a few years ago, this AI can replace an actor's face with that of someone else. Useful when you want to make an actor look younger, as was the case in Martin Scorsese's Irishman, or to bring someone back to life, like Princess Leia from Star Wars.

Widely shared on social networks, artificial intelligence is as impressive as it is controversial, thanks to its ever-growing capabilities. But it also has something to scare people, which worries professionals and the public alike.

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The hidden face of AI

Many science-fiction films have warned us that machines will one day take control. Faced with this doomsday scenario, where AI catches up with reality, the film industry feels threatened.

Hollywood at war with artificial intelligence

The Hollywood writers' strike, which began last May, has turned the film world upside down. Faced with the fear of seeing humans replaced by machines, the strikers are calling for better management and regulation of artificial intelligence in the 7th art. Accompanied by actors and technicians, they are all afraid of being gradually replaced by artificial intelligence, rendered obsolete by ever more sophisticated algorithms.

Faced with the scale of the strike, some of Hollywood's biggest names are lending their support. Meryl Streep and Georges Clooney have already offered their support and made various donations to the strikers.

Some also want to reassure themselves. According to scriptwriter Fabrice Ebelpoint, a human presence is needed to guide artificial intelligences, and help them come up with interesting and relevant ideas.

There are fears, however, that the growing productivity induced by artificial intelligence could lead to a mass layoff of scriptwriters.

The loss of jobs frightens Hollywood, as well as the rest of the world. But the massive use of AI in this industry would also seem to be tending towards a more formatted cinema.

Artificial intelligence at the service of major franchises

It's no longer a secret that certain franchises are huge money-makers. More and more of these sagas are breaking the symbolic billion-dollar box-office barrier, attracting producers who see them as the goose that lays the golden eggs.

But what's AI got to do with it? While it helps in development to create tailor-made promotional campaigns to ensure films' success, more and more producers are looking to format their films.

Based on successful films, algorithms could produce films that are sure to be hits.

This is bad news for independent cinema and young directors, who have been overtaken by a more commercial style of filmmaking, and are finding it increasingly difficult to break into the highly selective film industry.

In the face of these pessimistic forecasts, there are still some pleasant surprises. The recent success of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig's Barbie offer some hope for the future of cinema.

Sami Arpa, an engineer at EPFL, also points out that AI only uses past data to create its statistics. It is therefore always possible that a film will have an unpredictable box-office success.

Artificial intelligence in the cinema has enabled great advances, particularly in special effects, but its meteoric rise is frightening, and the questions surrounding it deserve to be asked. But to keep moving forward, the strikers are now calling for better regulation of these AIs. To be continued

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