Avatar director James Cameron wants to use AI in filmmaking “to cut the cost” after calling it a "threat"

James Cameron backs off from his anti AI comment

Avatar director James Cameron recently sparked online debate after he expressed his desire to use artificial intelligence (AI) in filmmaking after always opposing it. He claimed that he just wanted to use AI to “cut the cost” of filmmaking without “laying off half the staff”.

During his recent appearance at Boz to the Future podcast, James Cameron, who is also a Stability AI’s Board of Directors, shifted his view on AI and said, “The goal was to understand the space, to understand what’s on the minds of the developers.”

James further explained that they were analyzing the target, development cycle, and resources required to create a new model for a specific purpose, with the goal of integrating it into a VFX workflow, and that it wasn't just theoretical.

He continued, “If we want to continue to see the kinds of movies that I’ve always loved and that I like to make and that I will go to see — Dune, Dune: Part Two, or one of my films or big effects-heavy, CG-heavy films — we’ve got to figure out how to cut the cost of that in half.”

The filmmaker added, “Now that’s not about laying off half the staff and at the effects company. That’s about doubling their speed to completion on a given shot, so your cadence is faster and your throughput cycle is faster, and artists get to move on and do other cool things and then other cool things, right? That’s my sort of vision for that.”

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Previously, James Cameron had criticised the use of AI in 2023 while referencing his hit film, The Terminator, released in 1984. The filmmaker said that he had warned about the dangers of AI with his film, but no one had listened.

In an interview with CTV News, James emphasized that the biggest threat was the weaponization of AI and expressed skepticism about AI's current capabilities. He also suggested that they wait 20 years to see if an AI could win an Oscar for Best Screenplay, at which point they would need to take AI seriously.