• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, July 9, 2025

Creative and artificial intelligence (AI) and whether or not the technology will disrupt artistry have been ongoing topics of debate. Actor and moviemaker Ben Affleck has his own ideas and perspectives on the role of AI in the future of moviemaking, which he discussed in an interview with CNBC late last year. 

He seemed to have a strong understanding of the technology and large language models in this interview -- something worth sharing with the advertising industry.

While AI can significantly impact the industry, Affleck believes it will not fully replace human artistry.

“AI can write you excellent ... verse, but it cannot write you Shakespeare,” he said in a video. “The function of having two or three actors in a room and the taste to discern and construct that is something that entirely eludes AI’s capability, and I think, will for a meaningful period of time.”

Affleck does believe AI will disintermediate more laborious, less creative tasks, and more costly aspects of moviemaking. It should also lower the barrier to entry and allow more voices to be heard such as content creators who work on a shoestring budget.

“AI is a craftsman at best,” he said, adding that a craftsman can learn to make furniture by sitting next to someone and watching their technique. “That’s how large language models basically work. They are a library of meaning and transformers of context. They just cross-pollinate things that exist.”

He made the point that nothing new is created -- not yet. And that has been my point all along. These models will not have the ability to create from nothing, which means thinking like a human, until they are able to reason and think for themselves with little input.

“Craftsman is knowing how to work, and art is knowing how to stop,” he said.

AI may make a background more convincing, change the color of a shirt or car in the scene, and fix mistakes made or get two seasons of a hit show into one year rather than two.

If this happens, the industry will make more shows and generate additional income through advertising and sponsorship. Affleck hopes AI will become a tool to create another revenue stream that can replace DVDs, which took between 15% to 20% out of the economy.

Linas Beliunas, director of revenue at Zero Hash, who shared the video on LinkedIn, described it best when he wrote “sometimes it takes an artist to see what the engineers can’t.”

Moviemaking is one thing, but using AI to expand performance and marketing for a brand is another. On Wednesday, Paramount+ launched “Paramount+ Fan Frontier,” an interactive social experience that builds on the streaming service’s “Find Your Mountain on Paramount+” campaign.

It allows viewers to claim their own space on Paramount Mountain. The campaign is meant to transform Paramount Mountain into an interactive digital landmark that lets fans engage with Paramount+ IP such as "Spongebob Squarepants," "Star Trek" and "Yellowjackets."

Paramount+ invites fans on Facebook and Threads to reply to prompts that showcase their fandoms, including “name your favorite Paramount+ series” and "share your dream vacation spot."

Domenic DiMeglio, CMO and CDO at Paramount Streaming, in a release stated that the social “activation builds on our legacy of emotionally resonant campaigns, pushing creative boundaries, elevating brand recognition and setting new expectations through cutting-edge tools and technology.”