Joe Russo, who co-directed blockbuster Marvel movies like “Avengers: Endgame” with his brother, gave some of his opinions on how artificial intelligence (AI) can affect the film industry in a recent panel chat with Collider.
This generation, according to Russo, “has a facile expertise in [AI] and is also not afraid of it.” “So potentially, what you could do with it is obviously use it to engineer storytelling and change storytelling,” providing the means for “constantly evolving” narratives.
“You could walk into your house and save the AI on your streaming platform,” he said. The director said, “Hey, I want a movie starring my photoreal avatar and Marilyn Monroe’s photoreal avatar,” Russo said. Say something like, “I want it to be a rom-com because I’ve had a rough day,” and the system will produce a pretty good plot with language that sounds just like you talking.
The director added that he anticipates today’s televisions will soon have the processing power to “render anything in real-time.”
Given that Hollywood is still debating its future with AI, these are bold and perhaps worrisome comments to make by a well-established player in the business. However, the likelihood of an AI surpassing human filmmakers within the next few years appears low.
Artificial Intelligence Will Happen
The ominous currents of AI are nothing new to Russo. In his words, he sits “on the board of a few AI companies” — the good ones, he claims, “that is developing AI to protect you from AI.”
Whether or not we want to see it developed, individuals who are not favorable to us may create it anyhow, so regrettably… you will need an AI in your life,” the filmmaker adds, suggesting that he sees AI and its incursion as inevitable.
Despite the obvious dangers, Russo seems optimistic about AI’s potential to help budding artists and designers, without offering much in the way of explanation for how it could actually do them damage.
The power of it lies in how it makes narrative accessible to everyone. He then remarked, “That is priceless. With the use of a photoreal engine or an engine plus AI tools, “anyone in this room could tell a story or make a game at scale.”
That’s “probably what excites me most,” he said.
