The Science and Technology Council of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reviewed the issue and decided: “Generative Artificial Intelligence and other digital tools used in the making of a film neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination”.
A couple of months ago, “The Brutalist” became the subject of debate after its editor revealed that generative AI had been used in the making of the film. Oscar-nominated film editor Dávid Jancsó said that production had turned to Ukrainian software company Respeecher, which specialises in AI voice generation technology, to make Felicity Jones and Adrien Brody sound more authentic when speaking Hungarian. Jancsó, a native Hungarian speaker, said he fed his own voice into the AI model, which was then used to help Jones' and Brody's characters nail some of the film's trickier Hungarian dialects.
The news prompted some people - especially on social media - to talk about an unfair and unethical way to get better results, even going so far as to suggest boycotting the film for this reason.
The reactions led the director David Cronenberg to express his support for Brady Corbet, who directed "The Brutalist", which was nominated for ten American Academy Awards and won three, including the Best Actor award for Adrien Brody. “This is just a part of moviemaking… We mess with actors’ voices all the time” said Cronenberg.
Actors and screenwriters had gone on mass strikes in 2023 expressing fears of job losses from AI. Τhe strikes ended after an agreement between the artists' and producers' unions on safeguards regarding the use of artificial intelligence.
The Academy's decision to clarify the landscape around AI and Oscar nominations shows how controversial the use of this new technology is still considered among filmmakers. The new rules for film eligibility clarify that films using generative AI and other technologies can be nominated for awards, on the basis that AI neither helps nor harms a film's chances of being nominated. However, the announcement of the new rules states that "the Academy and each branch will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship when choosing which movie to award."
Among other rule changes, Academy members will now be required to watch all nominated films in each category in order to vote in the final Oscar ballot. In the Best International Film category, the Academy will allow directors with refugee or asylum status to be represented by a country other than their own. The rules for the new Academy Award category for Achievement in Casting have also been codified.
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Photo credit: Mirko Fabian
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