James Cameron Calls Idea Of Gen AI Replacing Actors “Horrifying,” Says Tech Will Make Human Creation More “Sacred”

Though James Cameron — who sits on the board of Stability AI — has expressed positive sentiments about artificial intelligence usage in filmmaking, he calls the prospect of the technology replacing actors “horrifying” and maintains its implementation will inevitably raise the bar for our standards on human-made art.

In an extended interview with CBS Sunday Morning promoting the forthcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash, the three-time Oscar winner segued into talk about generative AI while discussing his affinity for motion capture, which he described as the “purest form” of performance.

At the time of Avatar‘s 2009 release, Cameron recalled his hesitance “to pull the curtain back” on motion capture in hopes the “magic [would] be unblemished” for audiences. Now calling that decision a “mistake,” he said it led to a misconception around the CGI-assisted tool.

“For years, there was this sense that, ‘Oh, they’re doing something strange with computers and they’re replacing actors,…