Kevin O’Leary, the TV personality known for his role in the business reality show Shark Tank, recently made his jump to the big screen and landed a role in the sports drama starring Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme. The businessman-turned-actor will be showing his acting chops in the film, set to be released on December 25, but he’s already making people talk. Not because his role is memorable, but because he’s voicing a strong opinion about the use of AI technology after his film debut. Hold on to your horses because O’Leary’s words may be infuriating.
The very wealthy personality recently appeared on World of Travel, a podcast by The Hill, and shared his very controversial take on AI. O’Leary explains how A24 could have saved millions if they had used AI for scenes involving extras:
“Almost every scene had as many as 150 extras. Now, those people have to stay awake for 18 hours, be completely dressed in the background. Not necessarily in the movie, but they’re necessary to be there moving around. And yet, it costs millions of dollars to do that. So, when we shot in a French Bistro, all the supporting actors behind, or at least the extras were speaking French.
“Why couldn’t you simply just put AI agents in their place? Because they’re not the main actors. They’re only in the story visually, and save millions of dollars, so more movies could be made. That same director, instead of spending $90 million or whatever he spent, could’ve spent $35 million and made two movies.”
His comments are the latest to surface in an industry that’s sharply divided between those who stand in support of the ever-advancing technology, and artists who believe they are being replaced by machines because it’s cheaper. There’s no question that he has a good point in terms of costs, but that doesn’t necessarily make it valid. Additionally, the films and TV shows that have dared to use generative AI for various purposes have been met with backlash. The controversy has been strong enough to make some of them instantly vanish from the spotlight and miss their chance at fair evaluation.
Even though he isn’t exactly a major Hollywood figure, O’Leary’s comments are nothing but incendiary in terms of the current state of Hollywood and the industry’s relationship with something as controversial as AI. He may not be a filmmaker, but his recent participation in a widely known film project should have given him some insight into the dynamics of an artistic medium that depends on human expression. However, his comments about AI actress Tilly Norwood show that he stands firmly on the opposing side of the debate:
“Tilly Norwood is an actor that’s burst onto the scene. She is 100% AI. She doesn’t exist, but she’s a great actress. She can come in at any age you want. She doesn’t need to eat, so she works 24 hours a day, and the union is going out of their minds. You can’t stop the advancement of technology. So I’m spending a lot of time investing in it.”
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