The Terminator director James Cameron criticised for joining AI company: ‘Incredibly depressing’

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Louise Thomas

Editor

Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron is facing backlash after it was announced that he has joined the board of an artificial intelligence start-up.

The 70-year-old will be joining Stability AI, the London-based maker of text-to-image generator Stable Diffusion.

In August 2023, the company was part of a lawsuit which saw three visual artists attempt to protect their copyrights and careers by suing makers of AI tools that can generate new imagery on command.

CNBC reports that after OpenAI unveiled the first short films created using its new video AI tool Sora in March, Hollywood executives began talking to the AI firm to discuss the potential of using the technology in films.

Cameron has now become one of the first major Hollywood names to make the jump to AI, becoming the newest member of Stability AI’s executive leadership team.

In a statement, the company’s CEO Prem Akkaraju said: “James Cameron lives in the future and waits for the rest of us to catch up.

“Stability AI’s mission is to transform visual media for the next century by giving creators a full stack AI pipeline to bring their ideas to life.

“We have an unmatched advantage to achieve this goal with a technological and creative visionary like James at the highest levels of our company. This is not only a monumental statement for Stability AI, but the AI industry overall.”

In addition, Cameron said: “I’ve spent my career seeking out emerging technologies that push the very boundaries of what’s possible, all in the service of telling incredible stories.

“I was at the forefront of CGI over three decades ago, and I’ve stayed on the cutting edge since. Now, the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave.”

But Cameron’s move has been met with resistance, with many people pointing out that the irony of the creator of the Terminator franchise is now embracing AI.

One social media user wrote: “I’ve thought about this a lot even before the news about James Cameron and AI hit but it’s so crazy how the first Terminator is such a deeply technophobic and anti-AI sci-fi movie, and then every movie Jim made after that was like ‘but aren’t the robots so cool tho?’”

A second added: “The recent 4K ‘restorations’ of his films all used AI garbage, so this isn’t surprising from James Cameron at all. I find it incredibly depressing that one of the pioneers of modern Hollywood blockbuster cinema feels the need to cut corners and destroy his own art.”

Another fan said: “It’s hardly surprising but James Cameron going in on generative AI is more disappointing being that he got his start working on Roger Corman movies and doing matte paintings for John Carpenter. AI doesn’t open doors for creatives it closes them.”

A fourth person echoed this sentiment, stating: “The James Cameron news is such a bummer for a lot of reasons but I keep thinking about how he cut his teeth making models & other practical effects for Roger Corman & how that kind of human ingenuity is the exact stuff these AI guys completely devalue & want to replace with slop.”

The news comes hot off the heels of Deadline reporting that Andy Serkis and his production company Imaginarium are working on a “narrative driven story” that will feature “AI characters”.

In July 2023, the Planet of the Apes star raised concerns that artificial intelligence could be used to undermine the efforts of actors and that it is something that needs to be taken seriously.

He said: “I’m probably one of the most scanned actors on the planet for various different films and projects. I would say I have probably been scanned more than anyone ever. I know that my image can be used, or my library of movements can be used or my voice. (It) is wrong that that is easily accessed and used without remunerating the artist.”

James Cameron’s representatives have been contacted for comment.