Artificial Intelligence has been used as a tool for decades, but its recent application in movies is unethical for the future of film.
With the constant mishandling of AI in the film industry, general audiences have adopted a wary outlook on the technology, and rightfully so. One of the most topical concerns right now is in correlation with vocal performances, using Respeecher, particularly in Adrien Brody’s performance in the film “The Brutalist”.
Respeecher is a software company that specializes in voice cloning, used most notably in the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody” to assist actor Rami Malek in his portrayal as Freddie Mercury, which he won an Oscar for. Unlike Brody however, Malek didn’t catch fire for his win.
I believe this is because Malek played a singer and AI has become commonplace in musical biopics.
In situations like this I believe the use of AI is justified. It isn’t altering an actor’s actual performance, only isolating lyrics so they can lip-sync.
The reason I don’t think Brody should’ve won is because he’s playing an actual character. The AI in “The Brutalist” was used specifically on Brody’s Hungarian accent to refine certain letters and vowels, which makes up a big part of his overall performance. As an actor it’s your job to act to the best of your ability without modification, and Brody couldn’t accomplish that.
When asked about this issue, Millikan Drama teacher Mike Bradecich said, “In terms of changing the words an actor is saying or the delivery of a line, that’s where it starts to get scary. I think like any tool, [AI] depends on how it’s used.”
COMPASS freshman and theatre student Mia Ulangca is firmly against the technology, saying “Performing is raw. The whole point is that it’s authentic. If you’re going to perform you have to give it all your best.”
AI shouldn’t be something we fear, but it also shouldn’t be so regularly misused in the process of creating art. It isn’t too late as a society to set boundaries with this technology, and conduct research before we decide what projects to support.
