A quick update ahead of the Oscars tonight! I was recently interviewed by three media outlets about my research on AI in film. The interviews centered on how this year’s Oscar-nominated films used the technology and the public backlash that followed.
KUOW Public Radio (Seattle's NPR Station): "And the winner is... Artificial Intelligence."
The Daily: "AI is destroying cinema as we know it — or is it?"
Across these conversations, I discuss how Oscar-nominated films like The Brutalist and Emilia Pérez used AI for voice modification (from Hungarian accents to singing) while Dune: Part II and A Complete Unknown employed it for visual effects. I situate these algorithmic uses and anxieties that surround AI in longstanding histories of technological transformation in Hollywood. From the incorporation of synchronized sound and color to the rise of television, CGI, and digital media, each innovation has sparked existential fears with a familiar "death of cinema" trope. Yet, cinema persists.
I also discuss how my publication on the 2023 Hollywood strikes found that film workers were not necessarily opposed to AI itself or altogether. Instead, their concerns focused on how studios might use AI to undermine their craft and labor. Many recognized that cinema has always relied on evolving technology and that AI holds creative potential insofar as they retain control over when and how to use it.
As you watch the Oscars tonight, notice how the nominated films have integrated AI and consider what these awards might reveal about the industry’s stance toward it. Nonetheless, one thing remains constant amid all of these technological shifts: the human creativity, connection, and storytelling that ultimately make film meaningful.
Enjoy the ceremony!
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