Oscars Bans AI Actors and Writing From Awards

The Academy has clarified that only human-performed acting and human-authored writing are eligible for Oscar nominations. The Oscars will not ban AI tools broadly, but says it will judge films based on the degree to which humans remain central to the creative work. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences […], which controls the US film industry’s most prestigious award, on Friday issued updated rules for what kind of work in movies and documentaries would be considered eligible for an Oscar as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology grows. In updated eligibility requirements, the Academy specified that only acting “demonstrably performed by humans” and that writing “must be human-authored” in order to be nominated for an award. The Academy called the requirements a “substantive” change to the rules for the Oscars.

The need to specify awards can only go to acting and writing done by “humans” is new for the academy. […] However, the academy did not issue a ban on AI use in films more broadly. Outside of acting and writing, if a filmmaker used AI tools in their work, such “tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination,” the academy wrote. “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,” the group added. “If questions arise regarding the aforementioned use of generative artificial intelligence, the Academy reserves the right to request more information about the nature of the use and human authorship.”