Ben Affleck gave his two cents on why he thinks Hollywood is going to be the last industry to get hit with the impact of AI on creativity. A video of the actor speaking at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference in New York has been doing the rounds online. In it, he can be seen saying, in no minced words, that AI is not a threat to him:
"AI can write you excellent imitative verse that sounds Elizabethan, it cannot write you Shakespeare. he 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."
The 3-minute and 52-second clip has since drawn varied reactions, with many alluding to the running gag that Ben Affleck was like a zombie when he was married to Jennifer Lopez. Here's what one user said:
"The craftsman analogy was brilliant. It’s like his brain woke up again. Is this before or after J Lo?"
Several more chimed in:
"Why is it surprising? Ben Affleck is smart. He also has a far better contextual understanding than most people - he actually makes things," one user said.
"Him and Matt Damon are one of the few smart actors in Hollywood," someone else opined.
"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," another pointed out.
"He’s saying AI is the new green screen. I agree completely. More filmmakers will be able to make higher quality movies and shows in less time and money. Let’s go for it!" one user concurred.
Scores online had a lot to say about Ben Affleck's speech.
"This sounds like someone in 1998 saying to not worry about the internet because it is never going to capture audiences that would go to movies. The internet for example will never let you watch a movie or a tv show, it just doesn’t have the capacity for it," one user claimed.
"It’s obvious he’s done quiet of bit of research and likely has had discussions with people actively in this space. If you had access you’d do it too. AGI & LLMs will change everything," somebody else opined.
"Ben Affleck is a very smart guy. There’s an interview with him in 2009 where he articulates the coming success of streaming because of dropping bandwidth costs," another stated.
"He actually made a lot of sense. I just can’t wait for AI to exceed Hollywood level movie quality so that movie making can be democratised. Take the power out of Hollywood and into the hands of ordinary creative people. There’ll be something for everyone," a fourth person stated.
Scores online weighed in with their opinions. While some disagreed with the actor, several pointed out that his grasp of the vocabulary was noteworthy.
Read Ben Affleck's articulate speech below
In the video circulating online, Ben Affleck goes on to say:
"What AI is going to do is going to disintermediate the laborious, less creative and more costly aspects of filmmaking that will allow costs to be brought down, that will lower the barrier for entry, that will allow more voices to be heard, that will make it easier for the people that want to make Good Will Hunting to go out and make it."
He then went on to refer to AI as a craftsman who simply imitated other people's work. He said:
"That's how large video models and large language models basically work. Library of vectors of meaning and transformers that interpret it in context, right? But they're just cross-pollinating things that exist. Nothing new is created. AI for this world of generative video, is going to do key things more, meaning—I wouldn't like to be in the visual effects business, they're in trouble. Because what costs a lot of money is now going to cost a lot less. And it's going to hammer that space and already is and maybe it shouldn't take a thousand people to render something but it's not going to replace human beings making films."
In Ben Affleck's opinion, at best, AI will be instrumental as an aide for filmmakers, such as while producing more convincing backgrounds and rectifying and troubleshooting minor mistakes. He also suggested an alternate AI ending to Succession:
"It can make it, you know, you might be able to get two seasons of House of the Dragon in a year instead of one," he said, before adding: "Eventually, AI will allow you to ask for your own episode of Succession. You could say, 'I'll pay $30, and could you make me a 40-minute episode where, like, Kendall gets the company and runs off and has an affair with Stewy.' And it'll do it."
Trending
However, Ben Affleck did acknowledge that in Hollywood, should anyone get the shorter end of the stick, it would be the visual effects teams. “I wouldn’t want to be in visual effects," he confessed, pointing out that AI could significantly axe down costs, thereby displacing the jobs of several.
Reply
