Guillermo del Toro says AI art in film is ‘an insult to life itself’

It appears artificial intelligence could revolutionize creative fields. Programs like DALL-E or Midjourney and Free AI Art Generator can be used by everyday people to produce images that look similar to human portraits and recreate the aesthetics of Wes Anderson. Many people in the entertainment sector remain skeptical of AI’s potential to create art. Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro has even weighed in on the debate, and described AI art as “an insult to life itself,” quoting renowned Japanese film director and animator Hayao Miyazaki.

“I consume and love art made by humans. It moves me deeply. And I am not interested in illustrations made by machines and the extrapolation of information,” del Toro said in an interview with Decider. Del Toro went on to name great artists such as Miyazaki or Dave McKean (English comic book illustrator and artist), who also voiced doubts about AI art’s capabilities.

Del Toro is the mind behind some of cinema’s most fascinating and magical worlds. The animated stop motion version of Pinocchio, the fairy tale from which he is best known, is his most recent work. The project is called Pinocchio, our Polygon review hailed the movie as “one of the great works of stop motion,” and is yet another touchstone in a remarkable career — a career that AI art will very likely never play a part in.