Following a conversation with Google CEO Eric Schmidt in Los Angeles earlier this week, Ashton Kutcher found himself in hot water for praising the OpenAI’s generative video tool Sora. Despite being criticised for suggesting that ultimately there would be no need to make films in the traditional sense, Kutcher sang the praises of the beta version of Sora that he has been playing with. He said that he was “pretty amazed” by the technology which he claimed could create 10-15 second videos that looked very realistic, and could be easily utilised in major movies or TV shows. He even suggested that Sora could take an idea and generate a script and video for it instantaneously.
However, creatives from across the industry wasted no time in expressing their opposition to the actor’s perspective. Former Rick & Morty writer Caitie Delaney argued that when you take humans off of a collaborative and creative pursuit, “you literally lose the humanity.” Similarly, writer Ash Laser claimed that Kutcher’s comments were “ignorant, shortsighted, self-centered” and ultimately would “replace” human jobs in the industry.
It should be mentioned that Kutcher is not only an actor but also the co-founder of investment firm Sound Ventures. This triggered LA-based artist Alice Herring to question why his investments in AI had not been disclosed when he was speaking on the subject of generative video creation. She said that Kutcher was not speaking as a filmmaker, citing that he was never a director, DP, writer or editor, but was, in fact “a salesman for investments.”
Kutcher’s comments about Sora produced a backlash from Hollywood, with some of his peers taking to social media to voice their opposition. Even with the ongoing debate about safeguards and regulation on the use of AI in the entertainment industry, Sora remains one of many emerging AI technologies that could transform filmmaking in less traditional ways
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