James Cameron Expresses Horror at Using Generative AI to Create Characters

James Cameron confirmed to CBS News Sunday that he did not employ generative AI to develop characters for Avatar: Fire and Ash, describing the idea as "horrifying." The films production involved constructing a massive ocean set, with actors performing in a 250,000-gallon tank. Digital artists then transformed these recordings into the on-screen characters.

For performance capture, we use numerous cameras to record the actors body movements, Cameron explained. Additionally, oneor now twocameras focus on the face, capturing close-ups constantly. Theres something wonderful about being in a full-time close-up; it feels much like a theater rehearsal.

Cameron noted that his early work relied heavily on practical effects: he used them in The Terminator, and puppeteers animated the creatures in Alien. His first experience with CGI came during The Abyss, followed by Titanic, which he pursued mainly to explore the shipwreck. It was a way to an end, he said. I needed a story, so I thought, Romeo and Julietyoung, doomed love on the Titanic. And that was it.

Although he wrote the first Avatar script before Titanic, the technology to realize it fully did not yet exist. Cameron emphasized that what some perceived as computer-generated replacements of actors was actually a celebration of the actor-director collaboration. Generative AI, on the other hand, can invent a character or performance from scratch using just a text prompt, he said. Thats the exact opposite of what were doingits horrifying to me.

For more details, read the full CBS News interview with James Cameron.

Author: Sophia Brooks