Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro delivered a fierce denunciation of artificial intelligence in filmmaking, declaring “I’d rather die than use AI to make films” during a masterclass at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on October 25, 2025. The Mexican auteur, renowned for handcrafted masterpieces like The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, and his Academy Award-winning stop-motion Pinocchio, lambasted Silicon Valley “tech bros” for attempting to industrialize creativity. He warned that AI tools risk turning cinema into a soulless, algorithm-driven product, devoid of the human struggle and imperfection that define true art.

Speaking to a packed audience, del Toro rejected AI as a creative partner, calling it “a takeover, not a tool.” “These people don’t understand stories—they understand data,” he said. “They want to replace the beautiful chaos of imagination with sterile, predictable outputs. That’s not filmmaking. That’s assembly-line content.” The director, currently developing a live-action Frankenstein with practical effects and elaborate creature designs, emphasized that every frame must carry “the fingerprint of a human soul”—something machines, he argued, can never replicate.

Del Toro’s remarks echo a growing backlash in Hollywood, where AI is increasingly used for script generation, deepfake performances, and visual effects automation. The 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes secured protections against unchecked AI use, but studios continue to explore cost-saving applications. A recent UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report found that 71% of directors fear AI will erode creative control within five years. Del Toro aligned himself with traditionalists like Christopher Nolan and Hayao Miyazaki, who champion analog craftsmanship over digital shortcuts.

Also Read: Netflix Goes “All In” On AI: From Platform Experience to Content Production Pipeline

The filmmaker concluded with a passionate defense of artistic labour: “We make films with blood, sweat, and obsession—not code. If we surrender our nightmares and dreams to servers, we stop being artists. We become custodians of someone else’s algorithm.” His uncompromising stance, has reignited global debate over the role of AI in cinema, reinforcing del Toro’s reputation as one of Hollywood’s most principled and visionary voices.

Also Read: Sundar Pichai on ChatGPT: OpenAI Shifted The AI Window, Google Needs to Catch Up