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Star Wars creator George Lucas is the latest prominent voice to come out in support of AI in the creative arts, comparing its rise to that of the invention of the automobile.
Lucas’s full-throated embrace of AI despite its inherent ethical and environmental risks – not to mention Yoda’s outspoken skepticism of paths that are quicker, easier, and more seductive – is disheartening, but the Star Wars visionary says there’s no point in resisting. It’s “the future,” in his words.
“Artificial intelligence means it’s much easier for us to make movies,” he tells A Rabbit’s Foot. “It’s very much like sitting here saying, ‘Well, I believe the horse and the buggy is really where it’s at. These cars, they break down, they need gas, there’s all kinds of problems with them and pretty soon they’ll be making them into tanks, and then they’ll be killing people. It’s terrible.’ There’s nothing you can do about it.”
The car analogy is one of the most common rationalizations for AI complacency in the ongoing debate about the technology’s role in various mediums, an inevitability one would be wise to adapt to or risk being left behind. But most analysts still see the worst implications of AI as far from inevitable, which is why in the video game industry many prominent developers refuse to use it at all. Meanwhile, other filmmaking auteurs are outright rejecting AI in movies, like The Odyssey director Christopher Nolan, who just recently praised Gen Z for its “rapid wholesale dismissal of a supposedly foundational jump in technology.”
Lucas acknowledges that AI has its risks, but argues that it’s smart enough to self-correct. “If you want AI that tells you when something is fake and where it came from, AI can do that,” he says. “Humans can’t, we’re not that smart. The whole idea is you’re a human being, you’re responsible for what you say and what you do, and if you’re doing something that’s illegal you should be punished for that. Whatever you do, you should be recognised. It’s just like real life.”
Of course, Lucas is one of the most prolific, enduring, and beloved filmmakers of his generation, known for pushing technological boundaries and revolutionizing the film industry’s approach to visual effects. If anyone’s allowed a bullish take on an emerging technology, it’s him, even if film buffs and creatives alike are grimacing at the implications.