BFI Publishes Report Into AI, Makes Key Recommendations for U.K. Screen Sector on Issues Including Rights, Carbon Impact and Ethics

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I’ve recently come across an exciting new report by the British Film Institute on AI, and let me tell you, it’s packed with valuable suggestions!

Guiding AI Adoption in the Entertainment Industry: A Roadmap for Ethical, Sustainable, and Inclusive Integration,” authored by Angus Finney, Brian Tarran, and Rishi Coupland, serves as a comprehensive guide. This publication, under the auspices of the BFI within the CoSTAR Foresight Lab, delves into the ways AI is currently being utilized and explored in the entertainment industry. Moreover, it proposes a strategic set of suggestions, which they refer to as a “roadmap,” aimed at fostering ethical, sustainable, and inclusive integration of AI across the sector.

AI has been a staple in the creative toolbox of the screen industry for some time now, as evidenced by its use in the post-production of the Academy Award-winning ‘The Brutalist.’ The rapid growth of AI is even drawing significant investments in technology-focused ventures. Coupland, Director of Research & Innovation at BFI, stated this development. He also emphasized that our report arrives at a crucial juncture and underscores how advanced AI could be a turning point for the industry. In response, we must take prompt action on several important strategic areas.

See the nine recommendations from the BFI below:

As a passionate cinema enthusiast, I firmly believe that we, as a nation, must prioritize our intellectual property rights in the rapidly evolving world of generative AI. The current practice of developing AI models using copyrighted content without permission puts at risk the economic stability of our beloved U.K. screen sector. A practical solution could be the implementation of licensing agreements. To ensure their success, we need to establish new standards and technologies that can effectively support this new market.

1 – Carbon Emissions: Implement data-guided strategies to reduce the carbon footprint caused by AI

The large-scale generation AI models require substantial computational power, leading to high energy consumption and consequently, considerable carbon emissions. However, the ecological impact of AI is frequently overlooked by users in creative industries. To tackle this issue, it’s essential to promote transparency as a crucial initial step.

1 – Responsible AI: Foster cross-discipline cooperation to create ethically sound, market-preferred AI products that cater to various industries. The lack of involvement from diverse sectors like the entertainment industry has led to AI models, tools, and platforms with limited functionality or potential risks such as cultural homogenization and ethical lapses. For instance, AI models predominantly trained on U.S. data may overlook local narratives. Experts advocate for collaborative efforts in AI development to ensure that creative professionals are part of the process, maximizing the potential of generative AI.

2 – Insight: Empower the U.K. creative sector through top-tier intelligence. The U.K. hosts more than 13,000 creative technology companies and boasts a robust foundation in both AI research and creative production. However, many organizations, teams, and individuals within the U.K. screen sector, particularly SMEs and freelancers, struggle to access structured intelligence on AI trends, risks, and opportunities. This lack of shared infrastructure for horizon scanning, knowledge exchange, and alignment restricts the sector’s ability to adapt collectively to disruption. The British Film Institute (BFI) proposes establishing an ‘AI observatory’ and a ‘tech demonstrator hub’ to tackle this critical issue by centralizing insights from academia, industry, and government, and offering hands-on experiences with emerging tools and capabilities. This proposal has received support from the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee as a means to streamline the flow of information across different sectors.

Enhance the sector to foster abilities that align with Artificial Intelligence (AI):

As AI progresses, it might diminish the need for certain digital content creation skills, while simultaneously opening new avenues for jobs requiring human supervision, creative direction, and technical proficiency in AI systems. Our findings indicate a significant gap in AI education: the U.K.’s screen sector predominantly offers informal rather than formal AI training, and many freelancers struggle to access resources that could aid them in developing skills compatible with AI. Yet, the U.K., due to its robust AI research institutions, esteemed creative workforce, and blend of technological and storytelling prowess, is poised to excel in AI upskilling. By facilitating workers’ transition into roles enhanced by AI, the U.K. can safeguard its creative workforce and maintain its competitive advantage in the global screen economy.

Enhancing Transparency: Foster Greater Public Awareness Regarding AI’s Role in Screen Content Production

In the era dominated by generative AI, it is essential to foster public trust. Findings from surveys suggest that a vast majority (86%) of British respondents are in favor of clear disclosures when AI is employed in media creation. Similarly, industry stakeholders within the screen sector advocate for guidelines on content origins and truthfulness, aiming to combat the rising tide of misinformation and deceptive AI-generated content, often referred to as ‘slop’.

To capitalize on the U.K.’s thriving digital content production sector and foster its evolution, it’s crucial to enhance its capacity to adapt and expand. The U.K.’s distinctive blend of creative prowess and technological advancements, particularly in film, television, and video game production, is second to none, with London being the world’s second-largest hub for VFX professionals (after Mumbai). AI technology is already making waves across the U.K. screen sector, improving efficiency, fueling creativity, and paving the way for innovative storytelling. However, there are concerns about insufficient AI training and funding, as well as a disjointed infrastructure and absence of industry-wide standards, which could potentially impede the ongoing growth and advancement of AI-driven creative innovation.

Let’s focus on attracting investment to fuel the growth of the U.K.’s promising creative technology sector. The House of Lords has pinpointed a “technology scaleup problem” in the U.K., where businesses face challenges in accessing growth capital, have insufficient infrastructure, and exhibit a risk-averse culture. A Coronation Challenge report on CreaTech highlights substantial funding gaps during secondary investment rounds (Series B+ stages), which are frequently filled by foreign investors, potentially leading to intellectual property and talent drain from the U.K. The report also emphasized the need for physical infrastructure, as those working in CreaTech innovation often struggle to find spaces where they can showcase and sell their work.

Nurturing Independent Creativity: Encourage British artists to innovate with AI assistance, opening up opportunities for individuals and small teams in the screen industry to bring their imaginative ideas to life without relying on big budgets or studio support. By providing accessible tools, education, and financial aid to independent creators, and creating ethical AI products that are preferred by the market, the U.K. can cultivate a diverse and thriving creative ecosystem where AI serves as an extension, not a replacement, of human creativity.

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2025-06-09 02:17