Long before AI took center stage in the tech world’s headlines, top-notch science fiction films were already exploring the potential advancements in this field. Interestingly, one of the potential leads in The Matrix series had genuine concerns about how AI could impact his life in the real world.
Jet Li was once in consideration to portray the character Seraph in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, and there was also a point when Michelle Yeoh was being considered for a role in the Matrix series, possibly in the same character.
Why Did Jet Li Refuse to Star In The Matrix
Jet Li’s decision to turn down the role was remarkably straightforward, hinting that he possesses a knack for foreseeing the future when it comes to selecting his film projects – a rather impressive superpower, one might say.
Li expressed apprehension that his martial arts skills might be digitally incorporated onto AI characters or other actors without his consent. This concern delves into a contentious issue that was even explored in the 2013 film The Congress, featuring Robin Wright as an actress whose likeness is scanned into a digital representation of herself.
Li said (via South China Morning Post):
“I’ve been training my entire life. And we martial artists could only grow older. Yet they could own [my moves] as an intellectual property forever. So I said I couldn’t do that.”
Li’s concerns appear to have a basis, considering the growing role of AI and digital technology in the filmmaking industry. A significant aspect of the current 2023 Writers Strike revolves around unease regarding the utilization of AI in scriptwriting.
Movie Studios Want To Use AI To Replace Actors
On July 14, actors from the American film and television industry initiated a strike, leading to the suspension of Hollywood productions. This strike has had ripple effects even on U.S. films shooting in the UK.
The ongoing conflict centers around the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI). Actors harbor concerns about how AI could potentially affect their professional prospects. During their work on film sets, actors have their image and voice meticulously captured at an incredibly high level of detail, generating substantial volumes of data that filmmakers possess. This has raised concerns among actors that this data could be repurposed using AI.
Emerging technologies like machine learning, which involve AI systems that refine themselves over time, have the potential to transform an actor’s performance in one film into an entirely new character for another production, or even for use in a video game. Actors are strongly motivated to exert control over how AI handles and manipulates their visual representation.
Source: South China Morning Post
