Most Powerful People Working in AI 2026
The Hollywood Reporter • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Ben Affleck initially positioned as a Hollywood anti-AI advocate but revealed he co-founded an AI postproduction startup, InterPositive, acquired by Netflix for an estimated $600 million, showing nuanced views on AI's role in filmmaking.
- Stability AI, led by former Weta CEO Akkaraju and supported by James Cameron, aims to enhance creativity with AI while warning against content homogenization, emphasizing AI-enabled works over AI-created ones.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, despite controversies and Disney pulling out of a $1 billion partnership, remains influential in Hollywood with ChatGPT widely used in script development; OpenAI discontinued its Sora video generator amid backlash.
- Filmmakers like Darren Aronofsky and activists like Bateman are exploring and resisting AI in cinema, with Aronofsky blending AI tech in storytelling and Bateman promoting “no-AI” film festivals to preserve human creativity.
- Executives across major studios and tech companies, including Disney, Amazon, Paramount, Lionsgate, Apple, and YouTube, are integrating AI tools to accelerate production and democratize content creation while emphasizing the irreplaceable role of human creativity.
- Industry coalitions like Creators Coalition on AI, founded by Daniel Kwan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Natasha Lyonne, advocate for regulated AI use in entertainment, promoting artists’ rights and ethical AI deployment.
- Emerging AI creators like Zack London (Gossip Goblin) and companies like Deep Voodoo and Runway AI are pioneering AI-driven filmmaking, highlighting AI as a new creative medium rather than a replacement for human artistry.
- Meta’s AI chief Alexandr Wang and other Silicon Valley leaders influence AI’s intersection with entertainment, though internal challenges and controversies persist, underscoring the complex relationship between technology and Hollywood.
