Avatar Director James Cameron's Prediction About AI Is Terrifying

James Cameron's "Avatar" sequels may seem like the kind of massive Hollywood productions that can benefit significantly from generative AI software. The luxurious world of Pandora and the Na'vi indigenous people require advanced special effects that AI software could help with. But the highly acclaimed director, who relies on cutting-edge visual effects for his ambitious sci-fi stories, strongly opposes replacing traditional filmmaking with AI. He also shares the worries of others that AI may eventually lead to cataclysmic events, much like what happens in another franchise Cameron is famous for, the "Terminator" series, where a self-aware AI attacks humanity.

In an interview with CTV News, Cameron answered a question about AI with a "Terminator" joke. "I warned you guys in 1984, and you didn't listen," he quipped, before getting more serious. The director said that you have to follow the interests of those developing advanced AI products, and the money. They're doing it for market share, so they're "teaching greed" to the AI, or they're doing it for defense, in which case they're teaching it "paranoia."

"I think the weaponization of AI is the biggest danger," he said. "I think that we will get into the equivalent of a nuclear arms race with AI, and if we don't build it, the other guys are for sure going to build it, and so then it'll escalate," Cameron said. "You could imagine an AI in a combat theater, the whole thing just being fought by the computers at a speed humans can no longer intercede, and you have no ability to deescalate." Cameron made these remarks in July 2023, at a time when generative AI products like ChatGPT were still in their early days. ChatGPT had gone viral in late November 2022, only a few months earlier.

Cameron's comments came at a time when some of the "godfathers" of AI were warning about the need to regulate AI technology so it doesn't become a threat to humanity. Cameron noted that he shared their concerns. At the same time, the actors, and writers guilds were on strike in Hollywood, pausing work on movies and TV shows. AI was a concern for creators, who were worried that studios would rely on generative AI software to replace them. The "Avatar" director said at the time that he didn't think AI is a danger for writers, as machines can't tell a good story. "Let's wait 20 years, and if an AI wins an Oscar for Best Screenplay, I think we've got to take them seriously," he said.

There's been massive progress in the AI industry since Cameron's July 2023 interview, and that includes the use of AI products in the government sector and for defense purposes. For example, ChatGPT developer OpenAI partnered with Anduril in December 2024 to improve America's "counter-unmanned aircraft systems (CUAS) and their ability to detect, assess, and respond to potentially lethal aerial threats in real-time." Anduril's press release mentions the "accelerating race between the United States and China" to lead the world in AI, echoing Cameron's remarks. "If the United States cedes ground, we risk losing the technological edge that has underpinned our national security for decades," Anduril said.

NATO made a deal with Palantir for the Maven AI system in April 2025, which may improve "intelligence fusion and targeting, battlespace awareness and planning, and accelerated decision-making." These AI defense partnerships are far from Cameron's fictional Skynet AI developments in "Terminator." But they're a few examples of the early days of bringing generative AI tools to the military.

In November 2025, AI came up again in interviews with Cameron. This time, it wasn't about AI in combat theaters fighting at speeds that humans can no longer control, but the artistic process. Cameron was promoting "Avatar: Fire and Ash," the latest installment in the "Avatar" saga when he addressed the technology used to bring the project to life. AI products like ChatGPT and Gemini have advanced significantly since July 2023. AI image and video generators can create realistic images and videos with just a text prompt. In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Cameron explained that the motion capture technology he's been using for "Avatar" isn't the same thing as generative AI.

"For years, there was this sense that, 'Oh, they're doing something strange with computers, and they're replacing actors,'" Cameron said. "When in fact, once you really drill down and you see what we're doing, it's a celebration of the actor-director moment." "Go to the other end of the spectrum and you've got generative AI, where they can make up a character, they can make up an actor, they can make up a performance from scratch with a text prompt," Cameron continued. "No, that's horrifying. That's exactly what we're not doing."

That said, Cameron told Reuters in December 2025 he sees value in using AI for creative endeavors, but not to replace actors. In the same interview, he admitted that he has to find ways to cut costs before starting work on the next two "Avatar" films. Separately, Cameron joined the board of directors of Stability AI in September 2024. The company creates AI software tools for visual media, including image, video, 3D, audio, and language.