Academy Opens Doors to AI in Oscar Race

Films made with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) could win top prizes at the Oscars, according to its organizers.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued new rules on Monday that say the use of AI and other digital tools "will neither help nor hurt the chances of achieving a nomination."

Generative AI - which can create text, images, audio and video in response to simple textual requests - helped produce several films that won major awards in the film industry in March.

But the Academy said it would still consider human involvement when choosing its winners, CE Report quotes Kosova Press.

The Academy said its new language regarding the admissibility of films made with AI-generated tools was recommended by the Science and Technology Council.

Under other rule changes announced Monday, Academy members must now see all nominated films in each category to participate in the final round of voting, which decides the winners.

The use of AI in films became a hot topic after Adrian Brody won the Best Actor award for his role in "The Brutalist" during this year's Oscar ceremony in March.

The film used generative AI to improve the actor's accent when he spoke Hungarian, writes BBC News.

It later emerged that similar voice cloning technology had been used to enhance the singing voices in the Oscar-winning musical "Emilia Perez."

The technology's ability to quickly change or adapt an artist's tone and style, or to perform edits such as visibly altering someone's appearance, has helped make it more popular in music and film production.

But the use of AI remains contested, and artists and actors have expressed concerns about the materials used to train these tools and their impact on their livelihoods.