Art Directors Guild chides Martin Scorsese over his newfound fondness for AI

At a glance:

• The Art Directors Guild criticized Martin Scorsese for partnering with Black Forest Labs to use its AI model Flux in film production.
• Scorsese claims the AI will help visualize scripts and block scenes more efficiently for his creative team.
• The guild argues the AI partnership undermines human artists and relies on work likely stolen from creatives.

The Art Directors Guild, which represents storyboard artists and art department workers, has publicly rebuked Martin Scorsese for aligning himself with Black Forest Labs and its generative AI model Flux. The guild accused the legendary director of "turning his back on the human artists who throughout his career have helped him create his most memorable works."

Scorsese's partnership with Black Forest Labs centers on using Flux to assist with storyboarding and visualizing scripts before production begins. In comments to the New York Times, he emphasized the tool's potential to streamline communication with his creative team, stating, "There's always been this problem of how do you communicate what you see in your head to your cast and crew. Now with this tool I can share what I'm visualizing more clearly and efficiently to my creative team — the production designer, art designer and cinematographer."

The guild directly challenged this notion, arguing that Scorsese's use of AI would displace roles traditionally filled by human professionals. "He claims the solution is the use of this generative AI program to do the jobs that are rightfully the jurisdiction of Art Directors Guild Local 800 artists and designers – human artists and designers who have been successfully collaborating with directors to visualize their films for decades," the union said in a statement.

Furthermore, the guild pointed to the ethical concerns surrounding generative AI, asserting that any output Flux produces to serve a director's needs is built on "work likely stolen from them and many other artists from around the world."

Scorsese has historically been open to emerging technologies and has previously discussed AI as a tool for the next generation of filmmakers to navigate. However, this recent partnership marks a significant departure, with the guild accusing him of promoting a use case that exploits creative labor.

The conflict highlights ongoing tensions in Hollywood as filmmakers experiment with AI tools, raising questions about authorship, creative integrity, and the future of artisanal roles in cinema. While some embrace AI as a productivity enhancer, unions and guilds remain vigilant about protecting their members' livelihoods and artistic contributions.

As the industry grapples with these developments, the guild's rebuke of Scorsese underscores the broader debate over whether AI should supplement or supplant human creativity in filmmaking. The outcome may influence how other directors approach AI integration and whether regulatory or contractual safeguards will emerge to address these concerns.

The guild's statement also listed the specific roles it represents: storyboard artists, art directors, graphic artists, illustrators, production designers, scenic artists, set designers, and other Union professionals. These positions, traditionally central to translating a director's vision into visual form, now face potential disruption from AI-driven workflows.