Forum discusses AI's role in reshaping the film industry

At a time when artificial intelligence is profoundly reshaping the entertainment industry, how should filmmakers respond — by competing with AI, or collaborating with it?

Experts discussed this topic during the recent forum "AI Singularity" — 2025 Tencent ConTech, an event held by internet giant Tencent, where three renowned industry insiders — director Li Shaohong, Hong Kong visual artist Tim Yip, and scriptwriter Chen Yu — gathered to share their insights.

Yip, who won the 73rd Academy Award for Best Art Direction for Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, shared his experience with AI tools. He described the exhilaration of using AI to bring an alien sculpture to life, a task that once took considerable time but was accomplished far more quickly with artificial intelligence.

"However, I've never thought that AI would influence me. I've just regarded it as a cool assistant or collaborator. Personally, what has attracted me is that AI is continuing to accumulate resources from human beings, and AI's 'personality' is hence shaped by humans," said Yip.

Director Li, also president of the China Film Directors Guild, pointed out that one of the film industry's biggest challenges is whether AI will eventually replace actors by generating digital characters.

Last December, Li directed Hua Man Zhu (Isle Abloom), an AIGC short film produced as part of Kuaishou's Keling AI project. The initiative also involved eight other acclaimed directors, including Jia Zhangke and Xue Xiaolu.

Li predicted that future films may exist in two versions: one starring real actors and another "played" by AI-generated characters. Still, she believes that arthouse cinema, particularly movies with independent narratives that explore the complexity of humanity, will be difficult for AI to replicate.

Screenwriter Chen Yu, known for writing Zhang Yimou's blockbuster Full River Red, offered a different view. He suggested that AI, to some extent, is already capable of emotional exchange with humans, sometimes acting like a "know-it-all" friend, or even simulating the role of a lover.