Justine Bateman, a veteran actor-filmmaker and computer science graduate from UCLA, has been vocal about her concerns regarding the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the film industry. 

Bateman has been a lead voice in the AI-skeptic movement, advising SAG-AFTRA on the issue and participating in the WGA picket line during the strikes.

Bateman is the founder of Credo 23, an organization that aims to promote human-driven filmmaking and combat the growing use of AI in the industry. 

According to Credo 23, Generative AI “will destroy the structure of the film business,” and the organization’s goal is to create “very human, very raw, very real films/series that respect the process of filmmaking.”

As Hollywood begins to explore the use of text-to-video tools like OpenAI’s Sora, Bateman is renewing her call for a movement to prioritise human-driven filmmaking. 

She argues that organic material created by humans is essential to maintaining the integrity of the film industry.

The actress believes that the increasing reliance on algorithms and AI will further erode the humanity of filmmaking. She calls this movement a drive toward “the new” – a push to restore a humanity to filmmaking that has been lost since the algorithms began dictating content choices last decade.

Several high-profile creators have joined Bateman’s effort, including Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and cinematographer and The Handmaid’s Tale director Reed Morano. 

To platform the movement, Bateman has founded the Credo 23 Film Festival, a “filmmaker-first, no-AI event” that showcases films containing no machine-generated content.

The festival, which takes place this weekend at the Hollywood American Legion Post 43, will feature around 30 shorts and features, including pieces by Ethan Krahn and Callie Carpinteri, as well as two Bateman-helmed features, Look and Feel. 

She has announced that all profits from the festival will be given to the filmmakers to support them and fund their next film.