Acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron believes artificial intelligence can revolutionize filmmaking—not by replacing workers, but by accelerating the creative process. Speaking on the Boz to the Future podcast, the Avatar director shared his vision for integrating AI into visual effects (VFX) workflows to make big-budget films more efficient and sustainable.

“If we want to continue to see the kinds of movies that I’ve always loved and that I like to make—films like Dune, Dune: Part Two, or my own—we’ve got to figure out how to cut the cost of that in half,” said the 70-year-old filmmaker.

But Cameron emphasised that AI should not come at the expense of jobs. “Now that’s not about laying off half the staff at the effects company. That’s about doubling their speed to completion on a given shot, so your cadence is faster and your throughput cycle is faster, and artists get to move on and do other cool things and then other cool things, right? That’s my sort of vision for that,” he explained.

Cameron, who recently joined the Board of Directors at Stability AI, said his involvement is driven by a desire to understand the evolving space. “The goal was to understand the space, to understand what’s on the minds of the developers. What are they targeting? What’s their development cycle? How much resources you have to throw at it to create a new model that does a purpose-built thing—and my goal was to try to integrate it into a VFX workflow,” he said.

As he prepares to release ‘Avatar 3’ this December, Cameron’s embrace of AI signals a future where cutting-edge technology enhances, rather than replaces, human creativity in filmmaking.