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Robert Zemeckis's new movie “Here” has caused discussion about employing digital de-ageing technology and artificial intelligence. Industry figures and critical observers have started to voice concerns about what this could hint for acting.
Since the action is multigenerational, the movie stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright could portray themselves at various ages. Questions have been raised on how far such techniques can be used and what consequences they are likely to have in determining traditional acting jobs.
The ending of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA emphasized the need to address the issues of emerging technologies. Some expected they would protect the legitimate rights of actors and writers. However, the use of AI tools in recreating performances has raised some criticism, mainly because younger talents may find themselves out of a job since the market can now use licensed images.
On the Armchair Expert podcast, Lisa Kudrow recently criticized digital de-ageing in Here, seeing it changing more than the look. She viewed it as a first move towards further dependence on AI-driven performances.
Kudrow asked about the prospects for newcomers if producers could buy or reproduce images of actors already signed up with advertisers. They included concerns regarding human employment and the probability of shrinking opportunities for fresh talent.
According to Kudrow, such tools might have made an impressive and convenient difference in limiting the opportunities for new entrant actors expecting their acceptance. She said she has concerns that society could be heading towards a model where people do not look for conventional jobs in this line of business.
However, she suggested that at some point in the future, a basic income will inevitably emerge as a solution if technology continues displacing people.
Tom Hanks also recognized AI's potential for producers and actors to prolong an actor’s career. He said he could, in theory, repeatedly reappear as a younger version of himself. This raises questions about honesty and audience acceptance of performances given by machine learning compared to performances from raw physical or embodied action from the actors.
Hanks’ comments highlighted a situation in which actors never left the screen. Their representations could be used in new projects even when it becomes physically impossible for them to participate. This idea raises authenticity issues, as the audience seems to lack ways to easily tell when a show is powered by technology instead of talent.
