In The Matrix, Neo (Keanu Reeves) wanders through crowded city streets, bumping past sailors and women in red dresses, before learning that they aren't real people, but instead simulations. In future Keanu Reeves movies, it's possible that everyone around him might be simulated, too. On July 13, Hollywood producers advertised a "groundbreaking AI proposal" involving the "use of digital replicas or…digital alterations of a performance." The SAG-AFTRA union lambasted the proposal, accusing the studios of simply trying to replace background actors with AI. Studios could scan an actor, pay them for a day, and then simply use AI to insert them into the rest of the film, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator, said in a press conference. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers responded that this characterization was inaccurate and that they would "establish a comprehensive set of provisions that require informed consent and fair compensation when a'digital replica'" or similar AI technology is used.

The tools of modern cinema have become increasingly accessible to independent and even amateur filmmakers, but realistic CG characters (like them or not) have remained the province of big-budget projects. Wonder Dynamics aims to change that with a platform that lets creators literally drag and drop a CG character into any scene as if it was professionally captured and edited. Yes, it sounds a bit like overpromising. Your skepticism is warranted, but as a skeptic myself I have to say I was extremely impressed with what the startup showed of Wonder Studio, the company's web-based editor. This isn't a toy like an AR filter -- it's a full-scale tool, and one that co-founders Nikola Todorovic and Tye Sheridan have longed for themselves.