Marvel Icon Foolishly Thinks He’s Safe From AI

By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated 8 seconds ago

The new Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailers have really emphasized how the titular hero has grown up. As he deals with a mutating body, a bevy of new villains, and even a showdown with the Incredible Hulk, one thing’s for sure: Peter Parker’s not a kid anymore. The same can be said for Tom Holland, the man behind the mask. He was only 19 when he swung into the MCU in Captain America: Civil War. Now, the actor is 30, and life has seriously changed him. Some of the changes are good, like an engagement with his Spider-Man costar Zendaya; others are bad, like his hairline trying to creep up.

This has been on my mind ever since I watched Tom Holland’s appearance on Spain’s El Hormiguero talk show. Intellectually, I know that Tom Holland is a grown man, someone closer to middle age than to his teenage years. But when the actor spoke about the topic of AI, he seemed as naive as any child. The actor said, “I feel protected” because artificial intelligence doesn’t understand emotional expression or “the difference between being happy and being sad.” While Holland spoke about the importance of creativity and passion when it comes to making movies, he also ignored a fundamental reality: as a masked action star, he might be the most replaceable actor of them all! 

Spider-Man Vs. Ultron

When he appeared on El Hormiguero, Tom Holland was very blunt about AI, something that he pointed out “doesn’t have a soul.” When it comes to generative AI, the Spider-Man actor said that, “Creativity is safe from AI because creativity has to do with the human experience.” Continuing, he said that creativity is “about emotions, it’s about understanding one another.”

The Marvel icon then waxed philosophic about the limitations of this new technology. “AI can sift through data, but it can’t understand people’s emotions. It doesn’t understand the difference between being happy and being sad.” Comparing his work to another medium entirely, Holland finished his thoughts: “The way artists paint, it’s not about what they’re copying, it’s about expressing themselves. So I feel protected.”

To be clear, I fully agree with Holland that AI is soulless and that the creative things made with it will never have the same spark as human creation. Furthermore, I agree with his stance that creativity is about sharing and enjoying what humans have to say. However, the problem is that the Spider-Man: Brand New Day star is focusing entirely on what he and other like-minded people would or would not buy, i.e., that they wouldn’t buy an AI-made product. However, Holland would be better off focusing less on what he’s not buying and more on what Hollywood is selling.

Copy And Paste Actors

Hollywood is fascinated by AI for the same reason that countless CEOs are fascinated with it: they think they’ll make more money by having to hire fewer people. This means fewer artists, effects gurus, and editors. It also means fewer actors; like, one of the big things that SAG actors went on strike for was protecting themselves from being replaced by AI. Tom Holland, bless his soul, thinks that he is safe from being replaced by this technology, but that’s just not true. If you have any doubt about that, just check out the growing legion of Spider-Man videos fans have made via AI. 

Spider-Man is particularly easy to recreate with AI because half of his movies are just action scenes involving a hero with a mask. It’s not hard to portray Holland and others unmasked, either; again, a quick perusal of existing AI fan videos proves that. Granted, all of these fan videos are nowhere close to the quality of even the worst Marvel movie. So, Holland is right that AI-generated stuff will never be as good as human-made stuff. Where he is wrong, though, is that he doesn’t think every big studio will try to use AI whenever possible, including with actors if they can get away with it, because they’re gambling nobody will notice.

Pull The Plug, Spidey

Given a choice, most moviegoers would avoid AI-assisted films. This is why some directors are calling for an AI rating system which would (much like Steam does for PC gamers) create some much-needed transparency. This would allow someone to ask themselves the big question: “do I want to pay full price for a movie they cut corners on?” Without such a rating system, though, it’s the Wild West out there. Hollywood can and will sell you discount slop at full price, with CEOs laughing all the way to the bank while the rest of us gripe about how movies have gotten so bad without knowing exactly how.  

So, Tom Holland (you are reading this, right?), it’s not enough to sit back and assume the importance of creativity and the human spirit will keep you safe from AI. If this issue really means that much to you, it would be better if you spoke out directly about the matter to fans, directors, studio heads, and so on. Of course, Marvel has already been busted using AI before, and former employees have spoken out about its usage behind-the-scenes. If the Spider-Man actor were to strongly speak out against this technology, he might just lose his cushy acting gig in the MCU. That leaves us with a depressing reminder: when one of the biggest superhero stars in the world can’t say anything more strident for fear of reprisal, it’s obvious that nobody is truly safe from AI.