Amazon Studios’ Glenn Gainor Says “Human Intelligence Is More Powerful Than AI”

Stewart Clarke

11 December 2024 at 11:50 am·2-min read

Amazon Studios’ Glenn Gainor is backing humans over artificial intelligence, as he posited that the industry needs to embrace change during “an incredible inflection point.”

Gainor is Head of Physical Production, Amazon Original Movies, at Amazon Studios. “We are in an incredible inflection point as an industry, as a community and as storytellers,” he said during a session at Focus, the London event centered on film and TV production and locations.

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“There’s a lot of work that’s being done in various parts of the world to protect the integrity of existing jobs, but we’re definitely going to see a change. We’re all familiar with the labor strikes that occurred in my country, where there were tough negotiations.

“There was a big fear about artificial intelligence and these kinds of issues,” he went on. “The good news is that we have copyright laws to protect us. We have legislation that protects us. If we’re going to create content, whether it’s through art, direction, or writing, a human has to do it for it to be something that can stand up to copyright. So, I do think that ‘H.I.’, which is human intelligence, is more powerful than AI.”

Adapting

In a freewheeling talk that took in his work at as a producer and an exec and work as an indie and for major studios, Gainor warmed to the theme of adapting to a fast-evolving industry.

“There are very few companies in general in the United States that are 100 years old, there’s General Motors or Ford,” he noted. “You could also say Warner Brothers and Paramount, they’re also 100-year-old companies. They exist because they change. They’re not stagnant. They have to change.”

Speaking to a crowd of indie producers, Gainor, who has worked on the likes of Red One, Nickel Boys and The Idea of You, was quizzed on the soft skills needed to survive and thrive in today’s business. Try to make sure there is a market for your movie was one piece of advice he shared.

“All of us as filmmakers, we want to push our stories onto people. And, you know, the greatest products on this planet have all been pulled in. So, test it. Test it to see if somebody else is pulling [your story] in, because as an independent filmmaker, you’re raising the funds, so make sure that there’s a marketplace, that there’s a need for it.”

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