Demi Moore has said her peers cannot resist the rise of artificial intelligence, saying “to fight it is a battle we will lose”.
The actor, who is a member of the Cannes film festival jury, was asked during a press conference on Tuesday how AI was affecting the industry and whether she believed more regulation was needed.
“I always feel that against-ness breeds against-ness,” she said. “AI is here. And so to fight it is to fight something that is a battle that we will lose. So to find ways in which we can work with it I think is a more valuable path to take.”
She added: “Are we doing enough to protect ourselves? I don’t know the answer to that. And so my inclination would be to say probably not.”
Moore, who was last at Cannes with the body horror film The Substance, said there were “beautiful aspects to being able to utilise” AI but it could never replace the human experience or touch.
“The truth is there really isn’t anything to fear because what it can never replace is what true art comes from, which is not the physical, it comes from the soul,” she said.
“It comes from the spirit of each and every one of us sitting here, to each and every one of us who creates every day. And that they can never recreate through something that is technical.”
Elsewhere in the conference, Moore and the other members of the jury – chaired by South Korean film-maker Park Chan-wook – were asked about the connection between cinema and politics.
“I don’t think politics and art should be divided,” said Park. “It’s a strange concept to think they’re in conflict with each other. Just because a work of art has a political statement, it should not be considered an enemy of art.
“At the same time, just because a film is not making a political statement, that film should not be ignored. Even if we are to make a brilliant political statement, if it is not expressed artfully enough it would just be propaganda.”
Asked if speaking freely about politics could damage the promotion of a film, Moore replied: “I would hope not. Part of art is about expression, so if we start censoring ourselves then we shut down the core of our creativity, which is where we can discover truth and answers.”
Paul Laverty, a UK screenwriter known for his collaborations with the director Ken Loach, called out Hollywood for “blacklisting” actors who had spoken out in support of the people of Gaza, citing Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo.
