Hellboy director hits out at AI

The technology can generate “semi-compelling screensavers” but nothing more, Guillermo Del Toro has said

Artificial intelligence (AI) cannot substitute true emotion and the value of art, meaning its usefulness in the film industry is extremely limited, Oscar-winning director Guillermo Del Toro has argued.   

Speaking at the BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday, the director of movies such as Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth reiterated his criticism of AI and its value in art.

“AI has demonstrated that it can do semi-compelling screensavers. That’s essentially that,” the Mexican filmmaker said.

Del Toro went on to claim that unlike human-made art, generative AI would never make people experience genuine and complex emotions. 

“The value of art is not how much it costs and how little effort it requires, it’s how much would you risk to be in its presence? How much would people pay for those screensavers? Are they going to make them cry because they lost a son? A mother? Because they misspent their youth? F*ck no.”

Del Toro has joined a chorus of Hollywood filmmakers who see AI as a threat which is taking over many creative jobs in the industry.  

In one of the first major labor battles on the issue, Hollywood screenwriters and actors staged a months-long strike last year over the use of AI in script writing and acting. The move resulted in guidelines being adopted on how the technology could be used in film and television projects.

The emergence of AI has sparked ethical debates about the extent to which it can aid humanity and whether it will replace human labor.

Recent research by Arize AI, cited by the Financial Times, revealed that 56% of America’s largest companies view AI as a “risk factor.” That number has jumped from just 9% in 2022. 

The media and entertainment industry has emerged as the most concerned, with more than 90% of companies, including Netflix and Disney, seeing fast-growing AI systems as a business risk, the survey showed.