Tim Burton on AI: "It’s Like a Robot Taking Your Humanity, Your Soul"

I think it would be hard to find an issue in film as pressing as artificial intelligence this year. It felt like AI was a bit of a punchline early on, and now it seems like every major director, writer, and actor has a quote about it.

That's because people keep using AI to mimic auteur's style and tone. It started as an exercise and quickly is growing into something more sinister, with people fearing major corporations will use this tech to take jobs away from people and to bastardize the vision of creatives.

Tim Burton was recently talking to The Independent, where he reacted to some websites, which have pulled his style into AI generators to make characters from different franchises.

Burton said, “They had AI do my versions of Disney characters. I can’t describe the feeling it gives you. It reminded me of when other cultures say, ‘Don’t take my picture because it is taking away your soul.’”

One thing we don't talk enough about is that when you make movies and TV shows, you are using part of your soul to put stuff on screen. You are bearing your heart for the world to see. The idea that a computer can replicate that is insanity, and it must be surreal to see a machine try to replicate who you are and what you care about.

Auteurs have been facing this all year, with videos mimicking Wes Anderson, Peter Jackson, and many others circulating on social media.

Burton continued to chat with AI, saying, “What it does is it sucks something from you. It takes something from your soul or psyche; that is very disturbing, especially if it has to do with you. It’s like a robot taking your humanity, your soul.”

These damning words should be heard by executives all over. If we make movies and TV into shells of souls, we're losing maybe the greatest art form or most empathetic art form ever invented.

We're losing the actual soul of Hollywood and all industries connected.

Hopefully, they heed his warning.

Source: The Independent