James Cameron Says ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Is AI-Free But He Isn’t Against It: “I’m Not Negative About Generative AI”

James Cameron spoke with ComicBook about his latest film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, and shared his thoughts on artificial intelligence. While Cameron confirmed that no generative AI was used in the movie, he also said he is not against its use in filmmaking.

Cameron discussed broader concerns about AI, which he calls “Big AI.” “They call it the ‘Skynet Problem,’ and it’s being discussed. But obviously, what they’re talking about is alignment. If you’re hip to general intelligence issues and AI overall, alignment is a big issue. And they have to be trained, they have to be taught, they have to be constrained in a way that they only work toward human good. The problem is, who makes that decision? Who decides what’s good for us? We can’t agree amongst ourselves on a damn thing,” he said.

He explained that disagreements among governments and religions make it difficult to decide what is best for humanity.

Cameron warned that misinformation makes the problem worse. “You can’t have alignment unless we as humans have consensus, and we have no consensus. We’re probably almost in a consensus-free world right now. And then you start adding disinformation and intentional misinformation. On top of that, it’s like, we’re not going to figure this out in time. And they’re racing straight at it with billions and billions being thrown at it,” he added.

Despite his concerns about large-scale AI, Cameron emphasized that generative AI is different and should not replace human artists.

“I’m not negative about generative AI. I just wanted to point out we don’t use it on the Avatar films. We honor and celebrate actors. We don’t replace actors. That’s going to find its level. I think Hollywood will be self-policing on that. We’ll find our way through that. But we can only find our way through it as artists if we exist. So it’s the existential threat from big AI that worries me more than all that stuff,” he said.

Avatar: Fire and Ash, free of generative AI, is set to release in theaters on December 19.

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