118. AI: Coming to a Theater Near You!

The Internet lit ablaze, yet again, today when the directors of the new horror movie LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL confirmed Letterboxd users' suspicions that the movie used AI to help craft some still images featured in the final cut. The blaze was fueled by debates over AI's involvement in art and the implications such technologies could have on an increasingly undervalued job market of artists, production designers, costumers, you fuckin' name it. When studios can have ChatGPT spit out a completed script in a matter of minutes, what writer stands a chance? Does AI's popularity precede a hostile machine-led cinematic takeover? Should films like LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL be boycotted as an act of righteous protest? Do we even know what we're actually talking about?This is where I come in. I wrote some questions down, waxed poetic and then decided to ask ChatGPT the same list to get another perspective. I hope this'll open up a broader speculative discussion about AI's role in cinema.---THE QUESTIONS -1. How has AI already been used in movies?2. If an artist uses AI in their work, do they cease to be an artist?3. How do we critique works of art created by AI? How will these metrics be redefined based on the source of the art?4. To what extent does an original work need to be altered in order to avoid copyright infringement?5. Can AI be judged in the same light as one judges computer-generated effects against practical effects?6. What's the worst-case scenario regarding AI's involvement in the movies?---Follow The Movies on ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠& ⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠Financially support the podcast via the ⁠⁠tip jar!