James Hawes' generative AI prediction leaves questions hanging in 2026

In times when artificial intelligence is slowly taken over all avenues of life, and humans continue to become more and more reliant on its convenience, art has little space to breathe.

Being one of the less prioritised elements of society due to its lack of lucrative incentives, art already recedes to a far end while profitable commodities are multiplied.

Using the similar logic, entertainment is now mass produced without spending a hefty budget by investing in AI products which now have the ability to emulate real artists.

While the British director, James Hawes, predicted in 2024 that an entire show could be created using only AI in three to four years, it seems the world is already halfway there.

One of the award-winning movies, The Brutalist, caused much uproar when it was revealed that they modified certain affects using AI tools, but the usage has become fairly common now.

Hawes, who is also the vice chair of Directors UK, noted at the time that future AI could very well mimic the same complexity and emotional depth as humans.

However, he himself maintained that the spontaneity required for improv scenes, and the soul of an artwork is still irreplaceably human and will remain so.

Hawes is not alone in his staunch stance against the use of AI in the creation of art, but Christopher Nolan recently went above and beyond for his movie, The Odyssey, to create special affects without AI.

Nolan arranged special IMAX cameras, worked with stunt doubles, real ships, physical sets and locations for the movie – entirely avoiding the use of CGI as well as AI.

Expressing his disdain for AI in movies, the famed director has often referred to it as the “Trojan horse made of glass."