Recently, the Golden Globes updated its timeline and guidelines regarding the use of AI in movies and TV shows and their eligibility for awards. While this is a step in the right direction, the new guidelines are still too lax and present a slippery slope for the industry regarding its acceptance of AI.
Golden Globes allowing AI is a slippery slope for the industry
The Golden Globes recently announced several updates about the show, including its date (January 10, 2027), host (a returning Nikki Glazer), and that submissions for the show will open on June 1, 2026. Along with this, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association released its guidelines on AI in nominees. According to these guidelines, the use of AI “does not automatically disqualify a work from consideration, provided that human creative direction, artistic judgment, and authorship remain primary throughout the production process.”
All submitted work for the awards will be evaluated based on several factors, including “the extent to which creative direction, artistic decision-making, and execution originate from credited individuals.” The guideline notes that AI could be used in a production sense but not “as part of the core creative contributions” to the project.
Award shows are meant to be for celebrating the human element of movies and TV
While it is encouraging to see high-profile awards like the Golden Globes take a stance, their new set of guidelines is significantly more relaxed than those of other shows and not nearly strict enough for individuals who may use AI to create projects. In comparison to awards like the Oscars, which recently updated its guidelines to state that acting roles must be “performed by humans with their consent,” and screenplays “must be human-authored,” the Golden Globes are much less stringent. Even small allowances for AI could lead us down a troubling path.
At its core, these award shows are meant to celebrate the industry and those who create within it. Unfortunately, AI does not seem to be going away; however, awarding projects that utilize this technology feels like celebrating the exclusion of the human element from film and TV, which fundamentally contradicts their purpose. During Hollywood’s writers’ strike in 2023, one of their primary demands was job safeguards against AI, so allowing its inclusion for production assistance seems to contradict what creators wanted.
Ultimately, opening the Pandora’s box of AI, even slightly as the Globes are doing, makes it increasingly difficult to prevent its future inclusion. The most pessimistic view would suggest that it is only a matter of time before AI becomes widely accepted in Hollywood; however, I remain hopeful that the industry will continue to resist this trend, even when it comes to awarding achievements.
