Andy Serkis Thinks AI Is 'Magic'

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | September 23, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | September 23, 2024 |

Andy Serkis’s portrayal of Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy changed the way movies are made—undeniably so. Peter Jackson, the team at WETA Workshop, and Serkis created a computer-generated character that felt real to the touch. It still does! Yes, there are some shading inconsistencies depending on the Blu-ray or DVD version, but the character still holds up. Gollum was a massive achievement and required immense effort from everyone involved.

The motion capture technology used in those films paved the way for many fictional characters, but it all started with people at their computers. Human beings wrote code and worked tirelessly on designs and overlays. Serkis was a vital part of the process, contributing his expressive features and acting style. He has continued to use this technology as both an actor and a director. Now, he’s promoting AI.

Serkis now runs his own production company, Imaginarium Productions. At a recent conference for the UK’s Labour Party, Serkis discussed his plans to use AI in an upcoming project featuring 2D-rendered characters created by actors, which are then inserted into an AR world. “At that point, they become ‘AI characters’ authored by artists and directors,” Serkis explained during a panel. “They exist in a world where you can have direct interactions with these CGI characters.”

Details about the project were sparse, but Serkis did address concerns about generative AI. “It is another form of magic that frightens people,” he remarked. “Even the biggest VFX companies aren’t creating as amazing things as individuals working in their basements. It’s much misunderstood, much maligned, and lumped together in the same way people initially feared the internet would ruin everything.”

But don’t worry! Serkis insists he doesn’t want actors to be “ripped off.” “It’s taken a long time for actors to understand what it means to put on a costume or makeup and then stand in a [special] suit to essentially do what they normally do, which is act,” Serkis said. “We need the right permissions in place so these artists can monetize their work properly.”

This highlights my biggest issue with this kind of talk about AI. Yes, there is good AI, and it can be used for jobs people don’t want to do. That’s where it should stop. Using it to create art is a non-starter. Not only does it produce soulless content, but higher-ups will absolutely exploit it to cut costs and take advantage of people if given the chance.

Serkis just sounds naive here. Sure, protections against AI abuse would be great! There have been entire strikes about it (and there will be more). Not wanting people to get ripped off is a fine idea, but it’s naive if it means opening the door to more abuse. Computers were used to create Gollum initially, yes. But people like David Zaslav would prefer there weren’t “pesky” humans they have to pay to design, create, or play him. That’s the real issue. It’s not that people fear AI itself; they fear the people who control it.