George Lucas believes Hollywood can do little to stop artificial intelligence from becoming a major force in the future of filmmaking.
The Star Wars creator, 82, told A Rabbit’s Foot that AI ultimately ‘means it’s much easier for us to make movies.’
The Modesto, California native argued that resistance is pointless, saying ‘there’s nothing you can do about it’ and describing the technology as both ‘progress’ and ‘the future.’
He continued by comparing the debate to someone insisting, “Well, I believe the horse and the buggy is really where it’s at.
“These cars, they break down, they need gas, there’s all kinds of problems with them and pretty soon they’ll be making them into tanks, and then they’ll be killing people. It’s terrible.”‘
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Lucas seeking additional comment on the matter.
George Lucas, 82, says film industry figures are unlikely to prevent artificial intelligence from becoming a central part of cinema’s future. He is pictured in NYC last year
Lucas also highlighted several potential benefits filmmakers could see by incorporating AI into their creative process.
‘If you want AI that tells you when something is fake and where it came from, AI can do that,’ Lucas said. ‘Humans can’t, we’re not that smart.’
He added, ‘The whole idea is you’re a human being, you’re responsible for what you say and what you do, and if you’re doing something that’s illegal you should be punished for that.
‘Whatever you do, you should be recognized. It’s just like real life.’
In the chat, Lucas said that creatively, he was not a fan of using focus groups to help steer the story of a film.
‘I don’t like focus groups – the audience doesn’t know what they want to see,’ Lucas said.
He added that while he was interested in the opinions the audience formulated on certain aspects of the motion picture, he did not feel it should interfere with the original work.
‘If they don’t like a character, that’s interesting, and as a filmmaker I want to find out why,’ Lucas said. ‘But when the studios hear that, they take the wrong message – they let the audience actually make the movie.’
Protesters seen in San Francisco July 11 in a Stop the AI Race demonstration
Lucas pointed out a number of advantages that cinema professionals can gain in implementing AI into their work. Pictured last month in Chicago
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Lucas said that studios have gone ‘crazy with’ focus groups and trying to cater to ‘what the fans think,’ which he feels is a faulty approach.
‘That isn’t how you make the movie,’ he said. ‘You make a movie by finding someone that knows how to make movies, that has a story to tell and is passionate about it.’
Lucas, who also created the Indiana Jones franchise, said he believes audiences ‘go to the movies because the stories move you emotionally.’
He added that ‘art is an emotional medium.’
Lucas pointed out feedback he received on characters within the Star Wars universe to illustrate his point.
‘The critics and the fans who were 10 years old when they saw the first one and 13 when they saw the second one complained that they didn’t want to see a children’s film,’ Lucas said. ‘”Oh, that’s terrible. Jar Jar Binks is terrible!” Everyone said the same thing about R2-D2 and C-3PO.
‘At the beginning there was a huge push for me to get rid of C-3PO, and then in [Return of the Jedi] people said the same thing about Ewoks.’
