Actors, directors, and filmmakers aren't the only ones with futures at stake at the Academy Awards.
The results of Sunday's Oscars ceremony could also further the industry's embrace — or distrust — of artificial intelligence. Several big-ticket movies up for golden statues this year were created in part with AI, sometimes provoking fierce criticism online.
"AI" has become a two-letter dirty word in Hollywood in recent years, provoking pushback from creative types who believe that movie magic should be the product of primarily human — not digital — brains. That extends across everything from scriptwriting to voice dubbing.
The technology survived the drubbing it endured during the dual strikes of 2023, however, and is now an uninvited guest at the industry's most glamorous night.
"Tonight's Oscars will be a turning point for AI use in Hollywood," said Warner Bailey, a former assistant at the Hollywood talent agency WME who has gone on to become a heroic figure for industry workers thanks to his popular Instagram meme account, Assistants vs. Agents.
"Whether it's entertainment or beyond, I think our industry specifically needs to establish clear guidelines" to safeguard "artistic integrity," he said in a phone interview with Business Insider ahead of the ceremony on Sunday. "AI," he added, "isn't going anywhere."
AI's role in some of this year's biggest films
AI helped bring some of this year's biggest films to life.
According to multiple reports, AI enhanced Karla Sofía Gascón's voice in "Emilia Pérez." An advanced form of machine learning is said to have helped give the Fremen their glowy, hypnotic blue eyes in "Dune: Part Two." AI was also involved in the post-production of "A Complete Unknown."
In January, Dávid Jancsó, the editor of "The Brutalist" — which follows a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor — said that AI helped perfect the lead actors' accents in the film.
"I am a native Hungarian speaker, and I know that it is one of the most difficult languages to learn to pronounce," Jancsó told RedShark News, a publisher focused on film and television, in January. "We also wanted to perfect it so that not even locals will spot any difference."
His admission prompted scrutiny and online chatter, forcing the director to later clarify that AI was "used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only" and that the filmmakers strived to "preserve the authenticity" of the actors' performances.
These instances have generated enough noise that even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — the group behind the awards ceremony — is reportedly considering adding a requirement for filmmakers to disclose the use of such tools to its Oscars submission guidelines.
A representative for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Variety reported that the Academy is expected to release its updated rules for the 2026 ceremony in April.
Robert Thompson, a professor and director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, told BI that AI's use in moviemaking could impact how films are judged.
"Whoever is doing nominations or voting in any organization that's giving out awards is going to have to figure out if they have a zero tolerance for artificial intelligence," Thompson said. "Or they're going to look at any performance that has artificial intelligence — which is going to be more and more as we go along — and make the judgment accordingly."
These are some of the reasons people like Bailey think the industry and moviegoing audiences need more transparency about AI use.
"There's a growing gray area in defining artistic contribution" as AI's use becomes more widespread, he said. "Disclosing when and how AI was used doesn't necessarily diminish a work's value, but it does provide clarity for audiences, industry professionals, and award committees, especially in the context of institutions like The Academy whose objective is to recognize excellence in the arts."
Why AI is different than other Hollywood tech
To be sure, Hollywood is no stranger to technology. Some of the most iconic moments in cinema have only been made possible thanks to greenscreens and computer-generated imagery, or CGI.
But that's different from AI, which doesn't require manual human inputs to create images or operate like CGI does. The ability of AI to supplant so many parts of the creative process was central to the 2023 actors' and writers' strikes — schisms that divided the entertainment industry and sent thousands onto the picket lines across Los Angeles and New York.
Even their historic efforts to put parameters around AI's use, however, haven't been enough to halt its march. So long as investors, financiers, and production companies see money-making potential, Hollywood probably isn't going to say farewell to AI.
Look at Lionsgate, the production company behind titles like "The Hunger Games" and "La La Land." Last year, it inked a partnership with Runway, an AI media company, to focus on the "creation and training of a new AI model, customized on Lionsgate's proprietary catalog," according to a 2024 press release.
So this year's Oscars might be less about whether Hollywood will embrace AI (that seems inevitable) — but more about how quickly.
Though perhaps a dark experiment, we decided to put the question to the world's most famous AI, ChatGPT. When asked whether it thinks AI will one day be involved in all moviemaking, it gave a reply with which people like Bailey would likely agree.
"AI is already playing a growing role in various aspects of filmmaking, and it's likely to be involved in nearly all movie productions in some capacity moving forward," ChatGPT said.
But, it continued, adding just one caveat: "Full automation of moviemaking is unlikely, as human creativity and artistic vision remain essential."
