TORONTO, ONTARIO – SEPTEMBER 09: Nicolas Cage attends the “Dream Scenario” premiere during the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival at Royal Alexandra Theatre on September 09, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)
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Nicolas Cage is the latest Hollywood star to speak out against generative AI infiltrating the arts, describing the rise of the controversial technology as “disturbing.”
Per VarietyCage won the best actor award for his role in Dream Scenario at the Saturn Awards, and used his acceptance speech to voice his fears about generative AI.
What Did Nicolas Cage Say About Generative AI?
“I am a big believer in not letting robots dream for us,” Cage said.
“Robots cannot reflect the human condition for us. That is a dead end if an actor lets one AI robot manipulate his or her performance even a little bit, an inch will eventually become a mile and all integrity, purity and truth of art will be replaced by financial interests only. We can’t let that happen.”
Cage, an actor famous for his unique performances, clearly fears the erosion of creative expression through generative AI.
Motion capture technology, used to create characters such as Gollum from Lord of the Rings or the Na’vi from Avatarhas sparked similar debates, with critics concerned that footage can be digitally altered to the point where the original performance is lost.
Gollum actor Andy Serkis has argued against such fears, stating:
“The acting community has worries about motion capture because they believe it’s some form of replacement for performance when in fact, it’s the opposite … motion capture is a tool that allows actors to transform themselves into many different characters. You’re not confined by physicality. You can play anything.”
Generative AI has accelerated this debate, potentially allowing for more extensive editing of performances in post-production, or even threatening to replace actors altogether.
During his Saturn Awards acceptance speech, Cage went on to say:
“The job of all art in my view, film performance included, is to hold a mirror to the external and internal stories of the human condition through the very human thoughtful and emotional process of recreation. A robot can’t do that. If we let robots do that, it will lack all heart and eventually lose edge and turn to mush.”
The rise of machine-generated “mush” is an apt fear in the current media landscape, but commentators usually refer to it as “AI-generated slop.”
AI-Generated Slop Is On The Rise
AI-generated video is becoming an increasingly common sight online, with the technology having made significant improvements since the early days of nightmarish output, such as the grotesque “Will Smith eating spaghetti” videos that went viral back in 2023.
Now, the technology can render a human eating spaghetti fairly convincingly, but AI-generated footage of people still tends to spark visceral discomfort, as the uncanny valley effect is common.
Aside from obvious issues such as rubbery limbs and fingers, AI-generated video struggles to replicate human emotions, with very little room for nuance.
Controlling the facial expression, eyeline and body language of an AI-generated human via prompts is a messy, imprecise process. Notably, the most impressive examples tend to be released in short snippets, no more than a few seconds long, to conceal the unreality of the footage.
The longer an AI-generated person appears on screen, the higher the likelihood of a weird, unpleasant and unintentional action occurring.
Right now, many of the most popular AI-generated videos are little more than memes, and feature surreal, dramatic shifts in tone and action.
Even AI-generated slop designed to mimic real video clips tend to resemble fever dreams.
Fake Britain’s Got Talent videos that have gone viral on Facebook and Instagram (platforms irredeemably overrun by AI slop) feature impossible stunts and eerie reactions from slack-jawed judges and audiences.
AI slop is infiltrating our social media timelines, like wastewater pouring into a swimming pool, but sadly, the slop isn’t limited to online spaces.
AI-generated video is slowly creeping into advertising—Coca-Cola recently sparked backlash after releasing several AI-generated adverts that mimicked the tone and aesthetic of their most iconic Christmas ads.
Nicolas Cage isn’t alone in expressing his concerns about AI. Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo Del Toro has voiced deep distaste for the technology, and Beetlejuice director Tim Burton called AI-generated art “very disturbing.”
In a viral video clip, legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki scathingly described AI as an “insult to life itself.”
Other big names in Hollywood, however, have expressed support for the technology, such as Avatar director James Cameron, Justice League director Zack Snyderand actor Andy Serkis, who described AI as “another form of magic that is frightening people.”
