I, Robot film director Alex Proyas speaks out in support of AI cinema and reveals how it can be used to fix the 'broken' production process

The Australian director behind the blockbuster hit I, Robot has become an outspoken voice in support of the use of AI in film production. 

Alex Proyas grossed approximately $353million worldwide with his Will Smith-led 2004 sci-fi film, which warned against 'blind faith in systems' and technology. 

Now, the filmmaker, 62, has taken a bold stance in the divisive discourse surrounding the use of AI in cinema, advocating for its place in the industry. 

'AI can help film production in the same way any major technological shift has helped film production – by expanding what is possible, reducing certain logistical barriers, and allowing filmmakers to imagine worlds that would otherwise be financially impossible to realise,' he tells Daily Mail.

'But I'm not interested in AI as a replacement for cinema. I'm interested in it as part of a hybrid production model. 

'For me, that means the human element remains central: writers, actors, directors, designers, cinematographers, editors, composers, and crews all still matter profoundly. The seed of the work must remain.'

Proyas says he's not in a position to 'define' where the line should be drawn when using AI in creative spaces, but assures he does not advocate for 'scraping other artists' work, exploiting people's likenesses without consent, or using technology to erase the human collaborators who make cinema what it is'.   

'AI cinema can absolutely damage the human touch if it is used without taste, discipline or authorship,' he says.

'If the goal is simply to press a button and generate endless content, then yes, we are in trouble. That is not cinema to me. That is slop – algorithmic wallpaper. 

'But the human touch does not live in the tool. It lives in the intention behind the tool. A bad filmmaker with AI will still make bad work. 

'A filmmaker with vision, taste, emotional intelligence and a point of view may use AI to reach places that were previously closed to them. 

'Originality has never come from the camera, the lens, the editing system or the software. It comes from the artist. 

'The danger is not AI itself, but the industrial use of AI to flatten everything into the same acceptable, market–tested shape. 

'And that is where the film industry is already broken. It is risk-averse, over-controlled, financially bloated and creatively timid.'

Proyas believes many movies are now 'shaped by fear', claiming too many filmmakers are no longer willing to be original for 'fear of missing the demographic'.  

'Independent filmmakers are often trapped between microscopic budgets and impossible expectations, while studios spend obscene amounts protecting familiar IP,' he says. 

'AI will not fix bad taste, bad writing, bad acting or cowardice. But in the hands of real filmmakers, it may help bypass a broken system and let more dangerous, personal and original work survive.' 

He goes on to say: 'I think I, Robot is a fairly useful lens through which to look at this whole discussion. The film was never really saying, "technology is evil". 

'That's a very dull position, and not one I believe. It was about blind faith in systems. 

'It was about surrendering human judgement to something that appears efficient, rational and benevolent, while removing human agency from the equation. That seems more relevant now than ever. 

'So my position on AI is not: let the machine take over. It is that filmmakers must take control of the machine before the machine – or more accurately, the corporations that own the machine – take control of us. 

'There is always a slippery slope with any powerful technology. Cinema itself is built on them. Sound was going to destroy film. Colour was vulgar. Television was going to kill the movies.'

'Digital cameras were going to destroy craft. Some of those fears were foolish, some were justified, and all of them depended on how the tools were used. AI should serve the film, not replace the soul of it,' he adds.

However, Proyas does concede that there have been valid concerns made about the impact AI can have on production jobs in the film industry. 

Though he says 'there is another side to it' that should not be ignored.

'Yes, I have concerns about job losses, but this is not a film industry issue alone. AI is going to confront every aspect of commerce, labour and employment across every industry,' he says. 

'Cinema is simply one of the more visible battlegrounds because the work is so personal, collaborative and emotionally charged. Of course corporations will exploit it. That is what corporations do. 

'They will use AI to cut costs, reduce labour, compress schedules and maximise margins wherever they can. So I don't think we should be naïve about that. 

'But there is another side to it. If AI allows many more films to be made, then it may also create work that would not otherwise have existed. 

'A low-budget filmmaker who could never afford a crew, visual effects, design or post-production may suddenly be able to mount a film – and employ people in the process. That matters too.' 

'So I don't think the answer is simply "upskill and everything will be fine". People will need to adapt, yes, but the bigger question is structural,' he continues.

'What happens when abundance replaces scarcity? What happens when the cost of production collapses across industries? If everything becomes easier and cheaper to make, does profit itself begin to lose its central meaning? 

'Does the whole logic of capitalism start to fail? That, to me, is the real question. AI may change how films are made, but it may also expose how fragile the economic model beneath all of this really is.' 

Proyas has become a very outspoken voice in the discourse surrounding the use of AI in film production. 

The director is currently on the judging panel in the upcoming iteration of the OMNI International AI Film Festival, OMNI 1.5 HYPERPHANTASIA.

The festival, presented by Envato, is set to take place in Sydney on July 3.  

Proyas has also become one of the few major filmmakers actively experimenting with AI in how works.

The Crow director recently teamed up with AI-focused producer Ex Machina Studios and K5 for his new sci-fi feature film Heaven.   

'I'm not new to this area. I've been experimenting with AI from its inception in the creative space, and the truth is AI has been present in film craft for decades – long before it became the public buzzword it is now,' he says. 

'Visual effects, restoration, motion capture, compositing, simulation, crowd work, image processing – cinema has been using forms of machine intelligence and algorithmic assistance for a very long time. 

'What has changed is the visibility and accessibility of the technology. For my upcoming film, I intend to use AI as part of a hybrid production model. That means the script is written by a human being. The performances come from human actors. 

'The direction, taste, tone, structure, rhythm and emotional intent remain human. The crew and collaborators remain essential. AI is not the author of the film. It is not replacing the soul of the process. 

'Where it can help is in the areas where independent cinema has been strangled for years: visualisation, world-building, set extension, design iteration, VFX, production value, and the ability to create scale without needing a studio-sized budget. 

'It can allow us to make images and environments that would otherwise be financially impossible.' 

Proyas adds: 'I also want to be very clear – I have no interest in scraping the web for other artists' work. That is not my model. Plagiarism existed long before AI. 

'You didn't need a machine to steal from another artist in the analogue days, and you don't need one now. 

'As ethical filmmakers, we have always had a responsibility to respect other artists, their work, their likeness, their voice and their authorship. That responsibility does not disappear because the technology has changed.'