The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released new Oscars eligibility rules that explicitly address generative artificial intelligence, requiring that performances and screenplays be the work of humans to qualify for Academy Awards.
Under the rules announced Friday, only performances “credited in the film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent” will be eligible. Screenplays must be “human-authored” to qualify. The academy also said it reserves the right to request additional information about a film’s AI usage and human authorship.
The clarification comes as the use of generative AI is reshaping Hollywood production decisions. An independent film featuring an AI-generated version of the late Val Kilmer is currently in development, while AI-generated “actress” Tilly Norwood has continued to attract attention. New AI video generation models have also prompted some filmmakers to publicly express despair at the speed of advancement.
AI was one of the central issues during the 2023 actors’ and writers’ strikes, with both unions pushing for protections against AI being used to replace or replicate creative labor without consent or compensation.
The friction is not limited to film. In publishing, at least one novel has been pulled by its publisher over apparent AI use, and several writers’ groups have declared that AI-assisted work is ineligible for their awards. The Oscar rule change adds the film industry’s most prominent awarding body to a growing list of cultural institutions drawing explicit lines around what qualifies as human creative work.
