Ben Affleck confident 'movies will be one of the last' to get replaced by AI, fans applaud his 'clarity'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ben Affleck has an interesting take on artificial intelligence (AI), and the Oscar winner thinks Artificial Intelligence poses no imminent threat to the film industry. 

After months of making headlines for his ongoing divorce from Jennifer Lopez, 55, the twice Oscar-winning star is taking the internet by storm with his lucid take on AI posing a threat to the artistry in films. 

The 52-year-old actor recently appeared on the 2024 CNBC Delivering Alpha investor summit, where he shared a candid chat with ‘Squawk on the Street’ co-anchor David Faber about AI in films.

Ben Affleck compares AI to imitation

Speaking to Ben Affleck during the recently held summit, David Faber asked the actor whether AI poses a “threat” to filmmakers, per Toronto Sun.

“Is it a benefit or a real threat? Is it possible that Netflix could say, ‘We’re going to do our own James Bond thing with a bunch of actors that are recreated for this market or that market?'” Faber asked the ‘Argo’ star. 

Considering the question, Affleck responded that while it’s “not possible now,” it is “highly unlikely” to happen in the future as well. 

He explained, “Movies will be one of the last things, if everything gets replaced, to be replaced by AI.”

Throughout his speech, Affleck established AI as imitative. He explained the situation with an example: “AI can write you excellent imitative verse that sounds Elizabethan. It cannot write you Shakespeare.”

“The function of having two actors or three or four actors in a room and the taste to discern and construct … that is something that currently entirely alludes AI’s capability and I think will for a meaningful period of time,” continued the actor. 

Giving a picture of what AI might do, Affleck added, “What AI is going to do is disintermediate, the more laborious, less creative and more costly aspects of filmmaking that will allow costs to be brought down, that will lower the barrier to entry, that will allow more voices to be heard, that will make it easier for the people wanting to make Good Will Huntings to go out and make it.”

Continuing his argument that AI is imitative and lacks creativity, ‘The Accountant’ star called the technology “craftsman at best."

Differentiating between creativity and imitation, Affleck gave the allusion of craftsmen learning to make furniture by imitation. 

“Craftsmen can learn to make Stickley Furniture by sitting down next to somebody and seeing what their technique is and imitating it. That’s how large video models, large language models basically work,” explained Affleck. 

“But they’re just cross-pollinating things that exist. Nothing new is created,” declared the star poignantly. 

He further added, “Craftsman is knowing how to work. Art is knowing when to stop. And I think knowing when to stop is going to be a very difficult thing for AI to learn itsuse it’s taste. And also lack of consistency, lack of controls, lack of quality.”

Nevertheless, in his speech, the ‘Daredevil’ star acknowledged that despite being imitative, AI might pose a threat to the visual effects business. 

“They’re in trouble because what once cost a lot of money is going to cost a lot less. It’s going to hammer that space,” said Affleck before sharing his overall belief on the matter. 

The ‘Justice League’ star - who is convinced that AI cannot replace the art of filmmaking - however, acknowledged that the emerging technology can point out mistakes and fix them, enabling the filmmakers to churn out more flawless content. 

“It can fix mistakes that you’ve made … You might be able to get two seasons of House of the Dragon in a year instead of one. If that happens … they should just make more shows. You can have the same spend and you can watch more episodes,” shared the multi-faceted star. 

He also prophesied a future where the fans can rewrite the conclusion of their favorite shows in the way they would like. 

Affleck said, “AI will allow you to ask for your own episode of Succession where you could say, ‘I’ll pay you $30 and can you make me a 45-minute episode where, like, Kendall gets the company and runs off and has an affair with Stewy', and it’ll do it,” before noting, “And it will be a little janky and a little bit weird, but it will know the sass and those actors and it will remix it in effect. That’s the value long term of AI for consumers.”

While he did not deem AI to be a competitor of filmmakers, he acknowledged that creativity needs to be propelled in order to keep up with the competition. 

He cautioned the filmmakers, actors, and producers, “It’s a little harder to do this job now. You actually have to complete a little bit more, the consumer has more options. They don’t just have three networks, they don’t just have a few studios.”

Acknowledging the advent of social media, ‘The Town’ star added, “YouTube is kicking people’s a**. You can watch a lot of things … so you have to work harder and you have to be better.”

Ben Affleck's clear take on AI in Hollywood stuns the Internet

Ben Affleck's erudite take on the future of AI pleasantly surprised many fans who reminded each other that he is the same man who co-wrote the cinematic masterpiece 'Good Will Hunting'. However, a few fans also cautioned him about the full potential of AI. 

One of the fans praised his succinct differentiation between AI and art, noting, ""Craftsman is knowing how to work, Art is knowing when to stop” - hell yeah Ben Affleck, nail on the head."

Someone else added, "Respect for ben affleck grew by a thousand fold."

Someone else wrote referencing Affleck and his best friend, "Him and Matt Damon are one of the few smart actors in Hollywood."

"Why is it surprising? Ben Affleck is smart. He also has a far better contextual understanding than most people - he actually makes things," reminded another fan.

Someone else exclaimed, "OMG. Even AI execs won’t be able to provide such clarity about AI. I am truly blown away by the nuance and fluidity of his articulation."

"WOW!!!! mind blown....love seeing Ben sober... he is such an interesting and smart guy," said someone else.

Another social media user chimed in, "Oh that was actually a solid take."

"People forget this man cowrote Good Will Hunting," reminded another fan.

Meanwhile, there were a few netizens, who put another side of the argument as well. One of the users noted, "His analysis is based on what he sees. I disagree. AI will grow faster than he expects imo. He’s not qualified to say what AI can or can’t do in the near future. Neither am I, but I think it’s going to surprise him."

"The prediction is reasonable but the confidence is not," said someone else.

Another user said, "He's put up a good argument for the short term. Wait until studios buy the rights to the actors and their voices and they only need creative writers, a couple acting coaches within the genre, and prompt engineers."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.