Oscars bans AI actors and writing from awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has clarified that only acting and writing for films done by humans will be considered eligible to win an Oscar. The academy, which controls the US film industry's most prestigious award, on Friday issued updated rules for what kind of work in movies and documentaries would be considered eligible for an Oscar as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology grows. In updated eligibility requirements, the Academy specified that only acting "demonstrably performed by humans" and that writing "must be human-authored" in order to be nominated for an award. The Academy called the requirements a "substantive" change to the rules for the Oscars. The need to specify awards can only go to acting and writing done by "humans" is new for the academy. In recent months, there have been notable examples of expansive use of AI tools and technology to replace or recreate human work. The actor Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, is set to be recreated with AI technology in order to be a lead role in an upcoming movie. Last year, London-based actor and comedian ​​Eline van der Velden said she had created an entirely fake AI actor to "become a global supe