Here's the thing about AI-generated content that keeps nagging at Hollywood: it looks good at first glance, then falls apart when you realize nothing's actually there.
Leonardo DiCaprio just put words to that uneasy feeling. The Oscar winner told Time magazine, which recently named him entertainer of the year, that artificial intelligence fundamentally lacks what makes art meaningful. Even when AI produces something that seems impressive on the surface, it's missing the essential ingredient.
"Anything that is going to be authentically thought of as art has to come from the human being," DiCaprio explained.
From VHS Tapes to Vulnerability
DiCaprio's perspective on what makes creative work genuine traces back to his teenage years. At 15, he was renting VHS tapes and studying performances, particularly struck by James Dean's turn as Cal Trask in "East of Eden." That vulnerability stayed with him and shaped how he approached his own career.
Early on, DiCaprio chose roles that demanded emotional depth, like 1993's "This Boy's Life" opposite Robert De Niro. He passed on other opportunities to focus on complex, layered characters instead.
That foundation informs how he sees AI's role in entertainment today. "It could be an enhancement tool for a young filmmaker to do something we've never seen before," DiCaprio said, acknowledging potential uses for the technology.
But there's a catch. He pointed to AI-generated music mashups as a perfect example of the problem. Some combinations sound "absolutely brilliant" at first, he noted, like AI versions of Michael Jackson performing The Weeknd's songs, or blends mixing A Tribe Called Quest with soul legend Al Green.
The issue? They don't last. DiCaprio told Time these tracks grab attention briefly before they "dissipate into the ether of other internet junk." His conclusion: "there's no humanity to it."
Fighting for Original Stories
DiCaprio's commitment to human-driven storytelling comes through in his project choices. He recently discussed "One Battle After Another," Paul Thomas Anderson's September release in which he stars. What mattered to him? The film was built on "truly original story ideas" with no ties to existing characters or franchises.
He praised the studio's willingness to back the project and highlighted what he called the "fierce originality" of Anderson's creative process.
The themes resonated personally too. DiCaprio said the movie explores how people navigate a world where expressing beliefs feels increasingly difficult. Conversations with Anderson about the director's "fear of the future for his children" shaped how DiCaprio approached playing a father in the film.
Hollywood's AI Resistance
DiCaprio isn't alone in pushing back. The entertainment industry has been grappling with how to respond to AI's rapid expansion.
When an AI talent studio launched in late September featuring a computer-generated actress named Tilly Norwood, SAG-AFTRA called it a violation of performers' rights and a direct threat to human actors' livelihoods.
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro took an even more direct approach at the Gotham Awards earlier this month. Discussing his film "Frankenstein," starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi, del Toro emphasized it was made "for humans, by humans." His parting shot before leaving the stage? "F**k AI."
The debate keeps circling back to the same fundamental question: can technology that mimics creativity ever produce something genuinely meaningful, or will it always feel like something's missing? DiCaprio's answer seems clear. The results might sound impressive for a moment, but without human experience and vulnerability driving the work, it all just fades into the background noise of the internet.