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AI to Replace Casting Directors? Actress Voices Her Concerns

Photo by Ahmet Yalçınkaya on Unsplash

AI to Replace Casting Directors? Actress Voices Her Concerns

By Movieguide® Contributor

Actress Charisma Carpenter recently shared a surprising area in the entertainment industry where AI is infiltrating and replacing jobs.

“Welp, AI is coming for Casting Directors, Agents and Managers too. Seen as ‘intermediaries.’ AI protections across the board,” she wrote on Instagram.

Carpenter took to Instagram after receiving an email inviting her to join the 100 Actors Program, a casting opportunity organized by Swiss company Largo.ai. The actress was concerned because she knows how important casting directors have been in her own acting career.

“They may take data and statistics and spit out a formula that says this person is right for this part, but there’s no foresight…AI doesn’t know me, they don’t know the richness of my soul. They don’t know my life experiences. They don’t know the books I’ve read. They never had those conversations with me to glean how right I am for the part that maybe data would not foresee,” Carpenter said.

“I have had wonderful casting directors that have brought me back time and time again to get me employed,” she continued. “I am really hard pressed to see what the advantage is to actors going this route.”

The use of AI is currently a contentious subject in the entertainment industry and a key issue in the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes. 

Largo.ai, however, responded, saying they do not intend to replace casting directors and only want to empower actors.

“Our platform is designed to empower traditional content creation workflows and help producers, distributors and studios make smarter, more informed decisions,” Largo.ai’s website says.

The company has also clarified that they completely support the WGA and SAG strikes. Furthermore, their technology is not related to creating deepfakes or imitating actors’ performances or voices.

“We will use this as a learning tool for growth. Our mission is to provide more access and creation of job opportunities for [actors],” the company said. “Our platform is dedicated to empowering actors, providing enhanced visibility and making AI as a part of the preliminary casting process.”

The company also stated that they have no intention of replacing jobs in the industry. They see their technology as a tool that makes the job of casting directors easier rather than as a role to replace.

“There are assertions suggesting our aim is to replace all industry professionals with automation,” the company added. “However, one must consider who would be our clients then? In reality, we actively collaborate with industry professionals such as producers, distributors, studios and actors.”

“Our system diversifies opportunities beyond industry averages, often uncovers lesser-known talents, thus creating opportunities for those who might otherwise be overlooked,” the company stated.

Yet, actors are still apprehensive about the tool.

“This is absolute lunacy,” THE LAKE actor Jordan Gavaris shared. “The only reason I’ve ever had a job is because casting championed me for amorphous reasons. AI will never be a fan.”

“Having [casting directors] who believe in you and think of you for those roles tha might not seem 100% right for you but they know can you can it is how an actor builds a career,” YELLOWJACKETS actress Melanie Lynskey added. “This is nuts.”

Movieguide® previously reported:

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) went on strike, partly due to concerns over artificial intelligence, more commonly known as AI. 

“Studios had asked for the ability to scan the faces of background artists for the payment of one day’s work, and then be able to own and use their likeness ‘for the rest of eternity, in any project they want, with no consent and no compensation,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told BBC

Because of this, the Screen Actors Guild decided to strike. The production of movies and tv shows will now be paused. If not quickly resolved, it could lead to a huge delay in movies and tv shows. Release dates will need to be pushed back in order to continue the production process.