Nicolas Cage Calls Artificial Intelligence ‘Inhumane’ And A ‘Nightmare’

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Nicolas Cage calls artificial intelligence in movies "evil" and criticizes it in the industry.

The renowned actor discussed his role in The Flash in an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment.

Alongside controversial actor Ezra Miller, the actor said that the finished product did not resemble what he had filmed.

This revelation sparked a debate about the "misappropriation" of Tim Burton's Bruce Wayne in the superhero movie.

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“I know Tim [Burton[ is upset about AI, as I am. It was CGI, OK, so that they could de-age me, and I’m fighting a spider. I didn’t do any of that, so I don’t know what happened there. … But I get where Tim's coming from,” he said.

“I know what he means. I would be very unhappy if people were taking my art … and appropriating them. I get it. I mean, I’m with him in that regard.”

He continued by labeling the use of AI in films as "inhumane."

“AI is a nightmare to me,” Cage said.

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“It’s inhumane. You can’t get more inhumane than artificial intelligence … I would be very unhappy if people were taking my art … and appropriating [it].”

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) made an offer to employ AI to reproduce the likeness of background performers, but union members rejected it earlier this year when the SAG-AFTRA strike began in July.

Chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA Duncan Crabtree-Ireland predicted that the technology will be "groundbreaking," but not in a positive sense.

“They proposed that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day's pay, and their companies should own that scan – their image, their likeness – and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want, with no consent and no compensation,” he said, according to the outlet.

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The union claims that even though the strike came to an end on September 27, problems with artificial intelligence and digital reconstruction by Hollywood studios still need to be resolved.

The union submitted AMPTP with a proposal about the usage of AI, which they are now reviewing, according to a report from Reuters last week.

According to SAG-AFTRA, they spent "more than three hours this afternoon and evening presenting and reviewing our revised proposal" with the AMPTP.

"We continue to await the AMPTP's response to our comprehensive counter proposal package which we gave them on Saturday, addressing outstanding issues," SAG-AFTRA said in a statement, as per the outlet.

The ongoing discussions about AI in filmmaking reveal how technology and creativity are changing in the entertainment industry.

Nicolas Cage's criticisms and industry unions' resistance show that we need to keep talking and finding solutions to the issues AI raises in movies.

This conversation is essential in understanding how technology can affect creativity in film.

Striking a balance between creativity and AI's potential benefits is a challenge that the industry must address.