Oscars Say Human Work Stays at the Centre as AI Spreads
The Academy's president says the Oscars will keep rewarding human work, even as artificial intelligence (AI, computer software that can generate images, sound and text) spreads through filmmaking. Lynette Howell Taylor made the point in Tokyo, telling Variety that humans will always drive the creative workflow.
Howell Taylor said AI has been part of post-production, the editing and finishing stage of a film, for about a decade. It is already built into visual effects, she said. She also named copyright and transparency, meaning whether audiences and makers know how a film was made, as concerns in the Academy's thinking.
Howell Taylor was in Japan with Academy CEO Bill Kramer, Meredith Shea, the Academy's chief membership, impact and industry officer, and Amy Homma, director and president of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The group attended the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival to meet members and filmmakers. Kramer and Howell Taylor were also set to take part in festival panels, according to a Yahoo Entertainment report from mid-October.
Earlier in the year, Howell Taylor told NBC Los Angeles that humans have to be at the centre of the creative process under the Academy's AI rules. The Academy's application guidance says there are no rules against using AI in a film. It adds that AI use should enhance a project, not replace human creativity.
The Tokyo remarks also come with news about how films reach the international feature category, the Oscar for non-English-language films. For the 99th Oscars, a film can qualify without being its country's official submission if it wins the top prize at one of six festivals. Those prizes are the Golden Bear at Berlin, the Busan Award for best film, the Palme d'Or at Cannes, the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, the Platform Award at Toronto and the Golden Lion at Venice.
Shea said the International Feature Executive Committee will review the international feature rules each year so they keep pace with industry standards. The Academy's three short film categories and documentary feature already use qualifying festivals, the Academy said.
The rules also cover filmmakers who have left their home country. Refugee filmmakers who are no longer in their home country can be represented by the country where they are seeking asylum, the protected status a person can request after fleeing danger.
Timing matters for the 99th Oscars. A feature film must have a qualifying theatrical release, meaning a paid run in cinemas, between January 1 and December 31, 2026, according to the Academy's awards rules, approved in May. Full qualifying festival lists sit on the Academy's Rules and Eligibility page.
For filmmakers and festival programmers, the message from Tokyo is practical. Festival prizes can now open a route to the international feature category, and the human role in making a film remains the Academy's stated test. The rules will be reviewed each year, so the list may change.
