I think it’s worth pointing out that this really isn’t an “AI issue”, but a “visual effects issue”. Actors have been getting replaced with visual effects for 30 years, just recently Nicolas Cage filmed scenes for Flash, only to be completely replaced with a different CGI scene. Sometimes you don’t even need CGI, e.g. in The Mandalorian you have a stuntman under the mask a lot of the time with the actor just doing voice over. AI adds another layer of flexibility to the visual effects, but when you look at something like Gemini Man, the tech is basically here to do completely realistic face replacement even with just classic CGI.

The “identity theft” thing is also somewhat disingenuous when you consider the work of stuntmen, which get little to no credit compared to the main actor, despite often doing a lot of the actual work. The actors identity is basically just a marketing tool. Though even that has been fading in value long before AI, with modern movies being based around franchises, not actors or directors.

Anyway, given how good AI video already starts to look, I really don’t mind AI entering the field. It allows smaller teams with less budget to produce something that doesn’t have to hide behind the $300 million movies in terms of effects. Will still take a while until we get there, but it’s inevitable.