The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued new award eligibility rules, explicitly stating that AI-generated performances and writing are not eligible for Oscars. The policy aims to protect the central role of human creators in cinematic art.

Source: BBC Technology

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) issued a landmark update to its awards eligibility rules on Friday, declaring that only acting performed by humans and writing authored by humans can be considered for Oscar nominations.

The Academy described the change as “substantive” — the first time in its history that it has explicitly required human performance and authorship for award consideration.

Key Requirements

Under the updated eligibility criteria:

• Acting awards: Only granted for performances “demonstrably performed by humans”
• Writing awards: Scripts “must be human-authored”

The Academy stated: “The Academy and each branch will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship when choosing which movie to award. If questions arise regarding the aforementioned use of generative artificial intelligence, the Academy reserves the right to request more information about the nature of the use and human authorship.”

Context and Motivation

The rule change comes amid rapid advances in AI technology within the film industry.

Late actor Val Kilmer (who died in 2025) is being recreated using AI technology for a lead role in an upcoming film. Last year, London-based actor and comedian Eline van der Velden claimed she had created “an entirely fake AI actor” in an attempt to make it “a global superstar.”

Two years ago, when the Hollywood writers’ union went on strike, one of the key issues was film and TV studios using AI to write scripts.

AI Tools in Other Areas Not Restricted

Notably, the Academy did not impose a blanket ban on AI use in filmmaking. For areas beyond acting and writing, the Academy clarified:

“AI tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination.”

This means AI use in visual effects, sound, editing, and other production areas remains permitted. The Academy will evaluate each work “taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship.”

Industry Background

The foundation of all AI tools is large language models (LLMs), which are trained on text, images, and video created by humans over decades. Hollywood studios, actors, and authors are currently pursuing copyright infringement lawsuits against several AI companies.

Meanwhile, AI video generation tools have faced their own challenges — OpenAI recently shut down its Sora video-making app and cancelled a $1 billion deal with Disney.

This new rule is seen as a significant step by Hollywood to protect human creative workers in the AI era, setting a precedent for the global film industry.

Source: BBC News, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued updated Oscar eligibility rules on Friday, specifying that only acting “demonstrably performed by humans” and writing that “must be human-authored” can be considered for Academy Award nominations.

The Academy described the requirements as a “substantive” change to its rules. This marks the first time the organization has explicitly mandated that acting and writing be performed by humans, reflecting growing concerns about the expanding use of AI tools in the film industry.

In recent months, there have been notable examples of AI technology being used to replace or recreate human work. Actor Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, is set to be recreated with AI technology for a lead role in an upcoming film. Last year, London-based actor and comedian Eline van der Velden said she had created “an entirely fake AI actor” designed to “become a global superstar.”

When the union representing Hollywood writers went on strike two years ago, a key issue was film and TV studios using AI to write scripts. The Academy’s new rule now provides institutional protection for writers and performers.

However, the Academy did not issue a blanket ban on AI use in filmmaking. In the updated rules, it stated that outside of acting and writing, if a filmmaker uses AI tools in their work, such “tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination.”

“The Academy and each branch will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship when choosing which movie to award,” the organization added. “If questions arise regarding the aforementioned use of generative artificial intelligence, the Academy reserves the right to request more information about the nature of the use and human authorship.”

The rule change comes as Hollywood studios, actors, and authors are pursuing copyright infringement lawsuits against several AI companies, alleging that their training data violates the rights of human creators. The foundation of all AI tools — large language models (LLMs) — is built on text, images, and video created by humans over decades.

Notably, while the Academy has restricted AI in acting and writing, it has not rejected technology’s role in filmmaking more broadly. Computer-generated imagery (CGI) has been widely used in film production since the 1990s. CGI is generally considered a human-driven, manually crafted process, whereas AI tools are typically designed to automate the work entirely through simple prompts — a key distinction between the two approaches.

Source: BBC News, Reuters, Variety