Should A.I. Resurrect the Dead for Hollywood?

A topic of increasing debate is the use of artificial intelligence to digitally create or recreate human portrayals in film and media. Several films have even used A.I. to generate performances for actors who have died, which raises ethical issues regarding consent of using the likeness of human beings. This article will take a dive into instances in which A.I. has been utilized in place of human performances, and discusses whether it’s ethical to copyright someone’s uniqueness as a reusable asset, and also what this means for the future of the film industry.

An example of controversy surrounding A.I. model voices is with the 2021 documentary Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain, which told the life story of deceased celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain. This film found itself in hot water after audiences learned that Bourdain’s voice had been digitally generated to do a voiceover of an email that Bourdain had written. According to The New York Times, the film’s director, Morgan Neville, claimed that Bourdain’s estate and literary agent had given permission for this A.I recreation. However, Bourdain’s second wife, Ottavia Busia, would go on to criticize the decision on Twitter, which throws Neville’s claim of authorization from the estate into question. As for the ethics of this, the main question is one of consent from the actor or their family. Many would say that getting permission from the family is more than enough; especially since it was only an artificial voiceover of quotes that Bourdain had written himself. With that being said, consent is the primary legal element taken into consideration, but others are still concerned with the cultural harm that could come from this.

This topic of A.I. voice generation arose recently in September with the passing of the late great James Earl Jones, who is known for roles in films, such as Field of Dreams, The Lion King, and most famously the Star Wars franchise as the menacing voice of Darth Vader. Before he passed, Jones worked with Lucasfilm and allowed them to make a voice model that replicated his famous Darth Vader performance. While this passes the necessary legal requirements, there is still debate on whether it’s right to keep using this voice model in future projects involving his character. On one hand, this cements Jones’s voice as the one and only voice of Vader, and immortalizes his performance in a positive way. On the other hand, having free reign to keep using his voice deprives other actors from getting the chance to voice the character. Many fear that immortalizing voices like this will set a negative precedent of simply reusing A.I. voices to cut costs rather than finding new and innovative talent.

Regardless of all of these arguments, some people are just uncomfortable with the idea of on screen performances being done by non humans. Despite attempts to cater to audience nostalgia, A.I. recreations of iconic roles, such as Pat Morita in Cobra Kai, Christopher Reeves in The Flash, and Peter Cushing in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story have left many audience members feeling uneasy seeing fan favorite characters appearing in a non-human fashion. But is the unease just due to the uncanny appearances from incomplete technology? Or is it the knowledge that the actor isn’t alive to do their own performance? Only time will tell how people will react to these performances in the future. Advancements in technology, more acclimated audiences, and smoother processes in gaining permission may see the film landscape be completely changed in the coming years because of A.I technology.