Critics Slam Oscar Frontrunner's Use of AI

The Brutalist, a Brady Corbet film expected to be among Oscar nominees announced Thursday, is facing criticism after its editor admitted to using artificial intelligence. Dávid Jancsó told Red Shark News that AI was used to enhance the accents of lead actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones when they are speaking Hungarian and to create architectural drawings and buildings attributed to the lead character. Brody plays an architect who survives World War II in Europe, then starts over in America. After taking home several Golden Globes, The Brutalist is considered a frontrunner for the best picture Oscar, while Brody's performance is expected to nab a nomination for best actor.

At TheGamer.com, Stacey Henley acknowledges AI is probably "an inevitable part of our creative future," but considers The Brutalist's use of the technology as "grounds for disqualification from the two major categories it is considered a possible frontrunner for." She notes the "accent work had previously been praised as one of the core pillars of Brody's performance," but "that Brody only reached this level with the aid of AI means the performance is not him." She adds the use of AI to create drawings and buildings "seems to get in the way of [the film's] own messaging," given that The Brutalist is "about the value of hand-crafted artistry."

Jancsó, a native Hungarian speaker, said Brody and Jones "did a fabulous job" on the language, but filmmakers "wanted to perfect it so that not even locals will spot any difference." He said the use of an AI tool developed by Ukrainian software company Respeecher mainly involved "replacing letters here and there" in post-production. Though he said AI was also used to create "a series of architectural drawings and finished buildings in the style of" Brody's character, director Corbet has denied that was the case, per NBC News. The criticism isn't just for The Brutalist. Emilia Pérez, another contender, used Respeecher technology to blend the singing voice of actor Karla Sofía Gascón with that of French pop star Camille, the Guardian reports. (More artificial intelligence stories.)