‘It’s very worrying’ – Selassie Ibrahim raises concerns about AI in filmmaking

Ghanaian filmmaker Selassie Ibrahim has expressed concern about artificial intelligence (AI) in filmmaking, warning that it could push many industry professionals out of business.

Speaking to Kwame Dadzie on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, she acknowledged the benefits of technology but said the growing use of AI could have adverse effects on the film industry, particularly for people who lack the technical skills to use it.

“For me it’s very alarming. It’s very worrying because it might throw a lot of people out of business. It’s not everybody who is technologically inclined to use AI. So if you don’t have what it takes to use AI it means you are gonna be out of business, which is very worrying. It breaks my heart but that is what technology has brought to us. So we just have to up our game. But we still have people who ant to watch the content we create so like I said we have to up our game,” she told Kwame Dadzie.

Selassie, who is the founder of the Regal Film Festival and Awards (REFFA), also ruled out the possibility of accepting AI-generated films for the festival for now.

Asked whether such productions had a place at REFFA, she said existing AI platforms were not yet capable of producing content that adequately represented African stories.

“No. Not yet. We will get there. I don’t think AI platforms have enough to fill the space of African content yet. When you watch their lip, it doesn’t coordinate with the dialogue. And then the movement, you see someone, the same person standing here, the same person moving, by the time you release he’s gone to the left. No. Not yet,” she said.

She added that improvements could come with time as education and knowledge about the technology increased, allowing developers to identify and correct some of its shortcomings.

Her comments come amid growing conversations in Ghana about the use of artificial intelligence in music, filmmaking and other creative fields. Musicians, filmmakers and other industry stakeholders have been weighing the technology’s potential to support creativity and production against concerns about job losses, copyright, ownership of creative works and the possible displacement of human talent.

The debate also extends beyond Ghana. AI-generated and AI-assisted films have attracted attention in international cinema, including discussions about the eligibility of productions using the technology for consideration at the Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars. In the international music industry, AI-generated songs, cloned voices and questions surrounding artists’ rights have also sparked debate, with industry stakeholders calling for clearer safeguards as the technology develops.