Actor and screenwriter Seth Rogen on Friday dismissed the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in creative writing at the Cannes Film Festival, saying anyone who reaches for the technology instead of writing themselves has no business calling themselves a writer.
Speaking to media outlet Brut on the sidelines of the festival, where he was promoting his new animated film Tangles, Rogen said he sees little value in AI as a creative tool. “I don’t understand what it’s supposed to do,” he said when asked about AI in filmmaking. He pointed to AI-generated videos circulating on social media as evidence of the technology’s creative limitations, describing much of what he had seen online as low quality and unconvincing.
Rogen drew a firm line between using a tool and doing the actual work of writing. He argued that the process of writing matters as much as the finished product, and that anyone who genuinely loves writing would not want to hand that process over to a machine.
His remarks land at a pivotal moment for the entertainment industry. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) recently announced that AI-generated actors and screenplays written using artificial intelligence would not qualify for Oscar consideration. Not all of Hollywood agrees, however. Tyler Perry has said he would consider using AI in his productions, while Reese Witherspoon urged creatives to embrace the technology before it moves past them.
Rogen’s comments at Cannes place him squarely among writers and performers who see AI not as a tool but as a threat to artistic originality and the creative professions that depend on it.
