George Clooney and Maggie Gyllenhaal warn about AI in filmmaking

George Clooney and Maggie Gyllenhaal discussed artificial intelligence and filmmaking at The Future of Creativity symposium in Venice, hosted by Finch & Partners and Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Clooney said he had seen AI-generated versions of himself sitting with Barack Obama and discussing things that never happened. He warned that realistic deepfakes, especially those showing world leaders, could make it difficult for audiences to identify fabricated videos. He also questioned how viewers would recognize a false video of Vladimir Putin announcing a nuclear strike against the United States.

Asked by journalist Emily Maitlis about the risk of actors being replaced, Clooney acknowledged that some acting work could be replaced. He said AI would face the same challenge as filmmakers: creating a star.

Gyllenhaal described trying AI for her short film Flesh Impact, which concerns Marilyn Monroe. The project included an older version of Monroe and flashbacks to her in her thirties, with Dakota Johnson portraying her. After the team trained AI on Monroe and placed her face over Johnson's, the result was discarded. Gyllenhaal said Johnson's performance was more moving, human and alive, and that the technology fundamentally did not work.