Demi Moore has weighed in on the debate about how Hollywood should respond to the growing influence of AI, saying performers need to embrace the technology.
“I always feel that conflict breeds conflict,” Moore said at a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday. “AI is here. So fighting AI is fighting a battle that we lose. So finding a way to work with AI. I think that’s the more worthwhile path to take.”
She added: “Are we doing enough to protect ourselves? We don’t know the answer. So I’d say probably not.”
Director Moore is in Cannes as a member of the French film festival’s jury, along with Park Chan-wook (No Other Choice), Chloé Zhao (Hamnet), and fellow actor Stellan Skarsgård. Moore last attended the festival for the Oscar-winning body horror film The Substance, in which she plays an aging actress desperate to regain her youth.
Concerns that AI will replace jobs are real in many industries, from food delivery workers to entry-level tech jobs. And in Hollywood, it’s unclear how big an impact AI will have on productions. Last year, the introduction of the world’s first AI actor, Tilly Norwood, shocked the industry.
Since the digital character’s debut, Tilly has only appeared in music videos from its creator’s production studio, Particle 6. The robot hasn’t appeared in any Hollywood projects yet, but its creators say its synthetic universe will continue to expand.
Most recently, SAG-AFTRA secured stronger AI guardrails in a new interim agreement that governs how studios should use generative AI and includes new guidelines that strongly support “human performance.”
But Moore also said there is “nothing to fear” about the rise of AI, as it will never be able to replace the source of “true art.”
“It comes from the soul,” Moore said. “It comes from the spirit of each of us sitting here, each of us creating every day. And that can never be recreated with anything technological.”
Moore isn’t the only Hollywood veteran who believes movies and AI can work together. In 2022, actor Ben Affleck launched the AI film technology company Interpositive after becoming obsessed with AI in film production. He sold the startup to Netflix in March. The company focuses on developing AI-powered tools built by filmmakers and using new technologies to augment creative decision-making.
