Will filmmakers and creatives lose their jobs to AI?

While I was in Dubai last weekend, an interesting discussion came up among a group of my creative friends: “Will filmmakers and creative professionals eventually lose their jobs to AI?” Some believed this was inevitable.
Others strongly argued that human creativity can never be replaced. As for me, I believe the real risk is not AI itself, but creatives who refuse to adapt. Those who learn how to leverage AI and make it part of their creative process may become even more powerful than before, while those who ignore it could find themselves struggling to stay relevant. Let me explain how reality is today.
A young filmmaker, whether here in Oman or anywhere else in the world, connected only by the internet, may be sitting alone in a small apartment with nothing more than a laptop, a few empty coffee cups scattered around the room and access to a powerful AI tool or LLM (Large Language Model). Yet with this simple setup, that filmmaker can now create things that once required an entire studio.
Twenty years ago, producing a cinematic scene of similar quality would have demanded a full production crew, expensive cameras, lighting rigs, editors, sound engineers and visual effects specialists. Today, that same young creator can simply type a few sentences into an AI platform and watch cinematic sequences appear within seconds.
Background music can be generated automatically. Dialogue can be refined instantly. Storyboards can be produced in minutes. Even visual effects that once took weeks can now be achieved with minimal resources.
Think about how significant that shift really is. It is no longer only large studios with massive budgets that have access to powerful creative capabilities. AI is democratising filmmaking and content creation at a speed few expected.
Which raises an important question: Why would an organisation invest in a filmmaker or creative professional who refuses to leverage AI when others are using it to work faster, smarter and more creatively than ever before?
Artificial intelligence is now changing filmmaking faster than many expected. What once sounded like science fiction has become part of real production pipelines in Hollywood and beyond.
AI tools are already helping with scriptwriting, voice cloning, visual effects, dubbing, editing, colour correction, scene generation and even digital actors. The question is no longer whether AI will impact filmmakers. It already has.
Today, AI is being used more as an assistant than a replacement. According to a recent Adobe survey involving over 16,000 creators worldwide, 86% of creators now use generative AI in some part of their workflow. Around 81% said AI helped them create content they otherwise could not make. That number is the proof in the pudding as proof showing how quickly the industry is changing.
Major studios are already experimenting aggressively. Reports suggest companies like Netflix and Lionsgate are testing AI for visual effects, production planning and content creation. One AI-assisted production reportedly reduced timelines dramatically compared to traditional animation workflows.
Research from McKinsey suggests AI could significantly reshape film and TV production by automating parts of development, production and post-production. Meanwhile, market analysts estimate the AI filmmaking market could grow from around $3.2 billion in 2024 to more than $23 billion by 2033.
What does this all say? Yes, AI is impacting the filmmaking industry in a big way. Yet, creative people will not disappear, but creative jobs will evolve dramatically. The filmmakers who refuse to adapt may struggle. The ones who learn how to combine creativity with AI tools may become far more powerful than before. Technology changes the tools.
Humans still create the meaning. AI may reduce some traditional roles, especially repetitive technical tasks. But truly original storytelling, emotional direction, vision and cultural authenticity still belong to people. So to conclude my article, filmmakers and creatives will not lose their jobs to AI but be amplified by it (as long as they choose to make it their companion). Until we catch up again next week, stay aligned with AI.