The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has updated its Oscars eligibility rules, making it clear about its stance on the use of Artificial Intelligence.
The new guidelines set to apply to films competing for the 2027 ceremony, ban the use of generative AI tools in production by studios. The Academy said that the use of AI would be would be acceptable in areas of visual effects, editing assistance or even creative brainstorming.
The changes come ahead of the submissions for Oscars 2027. But the post edits isn't where the ban has limited itself. On Friday, Academy Awards organisers issued new rules to clarify that acting and writing must be human creation and not through the use of artificial intelligence in order to be eligible for the industry's highest honours.
The shift in eligibility criteria comes amid mounting concern within the entertainment industry over the potential for AI to displace creative labour. It is no secret that advances in GenAI have made it increasingly feasible to replicate human likenesses, voices and even writing styles, prompting fear among actors and writers that studios could adopt such technologies to reduce costs.
Announced via TheWrap, the new rules state that in acting categories, only roles "demonstrably performed by humans with their consent" will be considered eligible for consideration, while in the writing categories, only and only "human-authored" screenplays will be eligible.
Furthermore, in order to remain just in the process, the industry's biggest award committee have emphasised that it retains the authority to request additional documentation from filmmakers to verify that performances and scripts meet its human-authorship requirements. This suggests that compliance may involve new disclosure standards as studio increasingly integrate AI into their workflows.
Another rule that has been revised is the best international feature— formerly known as best foreign language film which will no longer be limited to a single submission per country or region selected by a local committee.
What does that mean for international films ?
Under these revised policies non-English language films can now qualify independently by winning the top prize at major global festivals, Busan International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival. The change opens the door for multiple films from a single country to be nominated in the same year.
The next ceremony, the 99th edition of the Academy Awards, is scheduled to take place on March 14, 2027 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Beginning in 2029, the event will relocate to the Peacock Theatre for a 10-year run and will transition its broadcast from ABC to YouTube, marking a notable shift in how the ceremony is distributed to global audiences.