Academy Awards organisers issued new rules on Friday to clarify that acting and writing must be performed by humans and not artificial intelligence to be eligible for the movie industry’s highest honours. The changes from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apply to submissions for the next Oscars ceremony, scheduled for March 2027.
Generative AI has raised alarm in the movie and TV business as workers fear studios will use the technology to replace human workers to lower costs. The debut last year of an AI-generated “actress” dubbed Tilly Norwood and its producer’s boasts of interest from studio executives, added to concerns and sparked a backlash from the SAG-AFTRA actors union. Under the Academy’s new rules, filmmakers can use AI tools, but a “synthetic” actor such as Norwood would be ineligible for an Oscar, the group said in a statement. It said screenplays must be “human-authored” to be considered. The rules state the Academy can request additional information to verify submissions were created by humans.