AI, or artificial intelligence, has been a popular topic within the last few years. From the use of Chat GPT or the new integration of AI into Google searches, it is safe to say the future is now. However, AI has also been the topic of controversy for many reasons, including its use in art and culture. Specifically, its use in the production of the media we consume through streaming, movies and television. During this past year’s writer’s strike, AI was the concern of many television writers as the technology threatened their entire livelihood. It was said AI would be used to write scripts and screenplays, which writers demanded protection from. AI has also been used to capture the faces of background actors and use their voices without their consent.
Along with replacing the jobs of writers and actors, AI has also been used in recent films such as Late Night with the Devil, directed by duo Cameron and Colin Cairnes. The film, starring David Dastmalchian, is set in the 1970s as the audience follows talk show host Jack Delroy on his last night of filming. The images were featured during commercial breaks. If you’ve seen an AI-generated image (at this point, who hasn’t?), you know it’s very clear to tell when something looks off in the image. There may be a weird gloss that makes everything look brighter if not pixelated. specific details that the system isn’t familiar with look distorted, such as fingers or misspelled words. Though the film proved to be interesting in its set design and immersiveness, audiences were poignant about their disappointment with the use of AI, such as Letterboxd reviews and online discourse. The directors spoke to various outlets, including Variety, clarifying the use of AI in their films. “In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined, we experimented with AI for three still images, which we edited further and ultimately appeared as very brief interstitials in the film,” they stated.
Another film associated with AI use was the more recent Civil War, directed by name and starring Kirsten Dunst and name. Promoted by A24, film posters featured AI images of famous United States landmarks in the midst of war. However, the scenes on the posters were not featured in the actual film. Therefore, audiences were thoroughly confused, especially since the studio is prided for the original works of artists in the industry. In case the title isn’t clear, the movie depicts our country in a civil war. According to a source from the film, the promoted images were meant to immerse and intrigue viewers in the dystopian setting that the film presents. While this is plausible, the question remains: why not allow actual artists with skills in photorealism and the like to create these images instead of leaving it up to technology? This question seems to rear its head often in relation to AI creations within film and television.
In case horror or dystopian films aren’t your thing, AI is also making its way in the most unexpected genre: documentaries. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Documentaries are usually about facts and real people. What Happened to Jennifer is a true crime Netflix documentary about Jennifer Pan, a Canadian woman whose parents were attacked during a 2010 home invasion. If you haven’t heard of Pan’s story, trust me, it gets crazy. What’s crazier is the AI images of Pan featured in the documentary. Remember when I said it’s easy to detect if an image is AI-generated? The AI generation of the pictures of Pan is deceptively easy to identify as her fingers are distorted and her top lip is missing in another. You can view the images for yourself in this article from Collider. The bottom line is AI images being used in a documentary compromises the integrity of any other image used in the film. Documentaries, especially true crime, already present the story of real individuals through a fish-eye lens, tugging at the heartstrings of its audience while somewhat exploiting the experience of convicted murderers and victims alike. With the use of AI in the film, even only for a brief second, it is difficult to trust anything else that the film may present to its viewers
Finally, an upcoming Tom Hanks project titled Here uses AI to make actors look younger. Deaging in films using technology already has a rocky past of not looking the best on-screen and even distracting from the plot of the movie from how awful it looks. Using this kind of technology is more detrimental than meets the eye. Not only is it non-aesthetically pleasing to the audience, but it takes away opportunities from actors that could potentially portray younger versions of the classic actors. While it can be interesting and possibly innovative to work with new technology, it can also take away from the main message of the film. In this case, the film Here has a family element that should appeal to many audiences. Casting actors to play the younger versions of the characters could do a better job of showing the progression of time in a family. While I understand the director wanting to praise Tom Hanks and Robin Wright by stating their performances wouldn’t be the same without their presence, there are better ways and uses of technology to tell a story. AI just isn’t one of them.
At this point, you might be wondering why it’s such a big deal. While AI has a bright future, the current images and projects it is producing still get details wrong and regurgitate images it’s already seen. Even though the case is different with each project, it doesn’t change the fact that AI is simply a lazy way of advancing technology in terms of art and culture in our current era, especially with films and TV, which arguably are supposed to showcase the talent of creators’ skills with technology, not replacing creators with technology itself.
