The Oscars. Credit: Instagram @theacademy
AI-generated content has officially earned its place at Hollywood’s biggest night.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirms that films using artificial intelligence (AI) will remain eligible for winning Oscars. The new rules, announced on April 15, 2025, clarify that the use of AI will “neither help nor harm” a film’s chance of winning.
The announcement follows months of debate over AI’s growing role in the entertainment industry and arrives after several films that used AI tools received top honours at the Oscars in March.
AI tools to replace human creativity?
While the Academy confirmed that films using generative AI are allowed to compete, it stressed that “human involvement” will remain a key consideration in deciding award winners. According to a statement shared by The Academy, eligibility will still be based on how central a human was to the creative authorship of the work.
The updated rules were crafted in collaboration with the Academy’s Science and Technology Council and are part of broader changes to voting and campaigning processes.
Other updates include a new and very surprising requirement: voting members must now watch all nominated films in a category before casting their final votes – an effort to ensure fairness in the final round of judging. It seems odd that this was not a requirement before!
AI in recent award-winning films
AI’s use in filmmaking sparked major attention this year when Adrien Brody won Best Actor for The Brutalist, a film that used generative AI to help refine his Hungarian accent. The film earned 10 nominations in total, drawing both praise and criticism.
Other notable examples include Emilia Perez, which reportedly used voice-cloning AI to enhance singing performances, and Dune: Part Two, which incorporated AI for post-production tweaks.
These technologies allow for quick stylistic edits, from altering accents to modifying appearances. These tools are increasingly common in music and film production, but not everyone is sold.
Artists are wary of AI’s growing influence
Many creatives remain cautious about AI’s expanding role. During the 2023 Hollywood strikes, actors and writers voiced concerns about the potential for job loss and image misuse.
“If you can take my face, my body and my voice and make me say or do something that I had no choice about, that’s not a good thing,” actress Susan Sarandon told the BBC. Another Hollywood actress, Cate Blanchett, also voiced her concerns to the BBC. She warned, “AI advancements can totally replace anyone. Forget whether they’re an actor or not.” She also called AI “incredibly destructive” and that she was “worried about us as a species.” Some celebrities have even united against AI’s unlicensed use of their work. More than 11,500 artists, authors, and musicians have signed a statement condemning the use of unlicensed creative works in AI training, describing it as “a major, unjust threat”.
Similarly, screenwriters worry that studios may turn to tools like ChatGPT to cut costs, replacing human writers in the early stages of script development. These concerns were addressed in union agreements that helped end the strikes.
Even some animators have dismissed AI’s creative abilities. Speaking to the BBC, Jonathan Kendrick, co-founder of streaming service Rokit Flix, said: “It’s like having a bad writer help you… if you need something with emotional weight, an AI isn’t going to get you an Oscar.”
Seth Rogen recently starred in a series called The Studio which depicts the reality of artistry being replaced by algorithms.
Do you see AI ever directing a blockbuster film or winning an Oscar? Let us know in the comments below.
