The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has updated its eligibility rules to explicitly require that acting and writing nominations be awarded solely to humans, as the film industry grapples with the growing use of artificial intelligence.
In new guidelines issued Friday, the Academy specified that performances must be "demonstrably performed by humans" and screenplays must be "human-authored" to qualify for Oscar consideration. The move marks a significant shift as AI tools become more prevalent in Hollywood.
Recent examples of AI's expanding role include plans to recreate the late actor Val Kilmer using AI technology for an upcoming film, and a London-based actor who created a fully AI-generated actor with the goal of achieving global stardom. Concerns over AI replacing human writers were also a key issue during the 2023 Hollywood writers' strike.
The Academy did not ban AI use in filmmaking broadly. For non-acting and non-writing categories, the use of AI tools "neither helps nor harms the chances of achieving a nomination," the organization stated. It added that judges will evaluate the degree of human creative authorship in each film.
In cases of uncertainty, the Academy reserves the right to request additional information about AI use and human involvement. The guidelines underscore the industry's effort to preserve human creativity amid rapid technological advancement.