Danny Boyle defends AI use in film as TIFF panel ends in protest

Director Danny Boyle defended his limited use of artificial intelligence in his new film 'Ink' during a panel at the Toronto International Film Festival, a session that ended abruptly after an audience member shouted in protest. The incident highlighted ongoing industry tensions about the technology's role in filmmaking. Boyle stated that about 30 seconds of AI-generated footage was used in the biographical drama, which explores the rise of tabloid journalism under media mogul Rupert Murdoch. He explained the technology was employed for visual effects, specifically to animate old photographs and add mice to a scene. "We try to be very responsible and make sure no actors were out of work because of it," Boyle said during the post-screening Q&A. "We would always employ actors if we were going to use a bit of it." The director acknowledged the broader societal implications of AI but suggested the topic was too complex for the panel format. "The wider question of it and its place in our society, of course, including our profession, is a huge and complicated one which I don't think we can probably go into here," he said. "But we will need to go into it, all of us.