A panel discussion titled ‘Will Artificial Intelligence Alter Filmmaking Forever?’ was held yesterday at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Panaji where a distinguished panel discussed the various facets of AI and its impact on the creative economy.

The session featured Indian filmmaker and entrepreneur Anand Gandhi, Pragya Misra, Head of Public Policy and Partnerships at OpenAI, with filmmaker and 55^th IFFI festival director Shekhar Kapur acting as a moderator.

The session commenced with Kapur’s opening remarks where he acknowledged that the understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still evolving.

“Nobody knows what AI is, we are still in the process of discovering various AI terms like Machine Learning, Deep Learning,” he observed while dwelling on the debate about AI’s potential to replace humans at jobs and shared an intriguing personal experience about his housemaid, who was able to generate a script for a sequel to ‘Mr. India’ that impressed him.

He compared the situation to the advent of tractors, which were initially thought to replace farmers, but in reality, technology should be seen as a tool to enhance human potential, much like the digital revolution where UPI for payments has become widely adopted, he added.

Demonstration of SORA: OpenAI’s Misra provided a demonstration of SORA, an AI-driven text-to-video model that allows users to generate videos from textual prompts. She explained that with simple instructions, SORA can create highly realistic videos, replicating intricate details of human expressions and cultural nuances.

She also addressed the ethical considerations surrounding the tool, noting that public figure’s faces are restricted in the model to prevent issues such as misinformation, hate speech, and ethnic discrimination. She emphasized that AI can unlock creative potential and be a powerful tool for humanity, benefiting creators and users globally.

When asked about AI’s growing role in filmmaking, Gandhi highlighted that AI would soon become an inseparable part of the filmmaking process and asserted that it will not just assist but actively participate as a co-author in creating films.

Regarding AI’s potential to recreate ancient scriptures, Misra confirmed that this was already happening, and emphasized the importance of democratizing access to such tools. AI could help creators pitch ideas and even secure funding, enabling directors to place their work on a global stage.

The discussion then shifted to concerns about AI’s potential to stifle human creativity. To this, Kapur said, “AI has a long way to catch up to human imagination because human imagination is born out of uncertainty, love, fear, but for AI, everything is certain”.

He stated that if we have that inertia to stop thinking and outsource everything to AI, that is inherent then and it is a human problem.

Misra responded by framing AI as a tool that supports creative expression rather than replacing it. “I can ideate it and better express myself using AI,” she added, emphasizing that AI acts as an intelligent assistant to help bring human ideas to life.

She clarified that even with the same prompt, SORA generates unique results each time, much like humans, who interpret each prompt differently.

The session concluded on a positive note, with the panel agreeing that while AI can significantly enhance filmmaking but will never replace the creative capacity of the human mind.