The Oscars officially don’t care if films use AI

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences acknowledged the existence of generative AI yesterday in new rule changes for its annual Oscars awards ceremony. Rather than dictate its use or require disclosures, the Academy simply says using AI doesn’t, on its own, hurt a movie’s chances — but that how it’s used could.

With regard to Generative Artificial Intelligence and other digital tools used in the making of the film, the tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination. The Academy and each branch will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship when choosing which movie to award.

As The New York Times notes, the organization almost went further by requiring filmmakers to disclose whether they used AI in creating a movie.

The mention of AI is a first for the Academy’s rules, as the Times writes, and a significant one given lengthy actor and writer Hollywood strikes that started in 2023 and were, in part, prompted by the rise of the technology and its perceived threat to creative workers in the industry.

The Academy didn’t just address AI with the new rule changes. Another new rule states that members are only eligible to participate in the final round of voting if they’ve watched all of the films being considered for a given category. But as the Times notes, it’s an honor-system requirement, as voters self-certify that they did so, and don’t have to prove it beyond that.