Filmmakers, industry experts and students in the UAE are voicing concerns that artificial intelligence could strip cinema of its human touch and threaten creative careers.
The warnings come after Fable, a company backed by Amazon, unveiled Showrunner, an AI platform described as the “Netflix of AI” that allows users to generate fully animated series using simple text prompts.
Users can create episodes by writing dialogue, prompting scenes and developing characters, with the AI handling everything from animation to voiceovers.
In the UAE, filmmakers and students are divided, with some seeing AI as a valuable creative assistant, while others warn it risks producing generic, soulless content and undermining career paths for young storytellers.
Currently on limited release, Showrunner is expected to become widely available in the coming months.
The launch has reignited debate over whether AI will democratise storytelling by removing production barriers or disrupt the collaborative craft that has defined filmmaking for more than a century.
Prof Peter Bentley, computer scientist and AI creativity expert at University College London, said the latest platform makes it “remarkably quick and easy” to create new works, provided they closely resemble existing ones.
“Creative and highly innovative outputs are not going to be so easy,” he told The National.
How it works
Showrunner works by letting users input short text prompts, from a few sentences describing characters and setting to more detailed scene-by-scene scripts.
The AI then generates storyboards, animates characters, voices dialogue and stitches it all together into watchable episodes.
Users can either create original series or customise templates of existing shows such as Exit Valley, a Silicon Valley satire, or South Park-style animations.
Access is currently restricted to a select group of creators testing the platform, with only a small library of prebuilt series available to modify.
While the AI can quickly generate plotlines and character arcs, it works best when those stories resemble familiar formats and genres, a limitation Professor Bentley says still keeps it far from replacing traditional filmmaking.
Fable has said broader access is expected in the coming months, prompting debate over whether these tools are already capable of producing watchable, formula-driven seasons or if they remain in their early experimental phase.
Filmmakers' fears
Faisal Hashmi, a UAE-based director and co-writer of the upcoming City of Life 2, said platforms such as Showrunner risk removing human vision from the filmmaking process.
“These tools are designed to undermine traditional narrative craftsmanship,” he told The National.
“What is film if not the vision of a storyteller using their own experiences to make you feel something? If you remove that process, is it really a film any more?”
Some experiments, such as the AI-generated short film The Ghost in My Machine, showcase the technology’s potential for speed and visual novelty, though critics say such pieces often lack emotional subtlety.
Mr Hashmi believes audiences will eventually reject AI-only content, though he sees potential for AI to support, rather than replace, filmmakers. He has used AI for storyboarding and visual effects.
“If AI aids the process rather than replaces you,” he said, “it has a place in filmmaking.”
Prof Bentley echoed this, saying AI cannot yet match the originality of a human storyteller. “We need creative people to make the outputs truly watchable,” he said.
Will we need filmmakers?
Razan Takash, filmmaker and head of film at SAE University, Dubai, said AI shortcuts essential learning for aspiring filmmakers. ““Instead of learning filmmaking, they’re learning film prompting,” she told The National.
She compared it to weightlifting: “You can’t prompt somebody else to lift the weight for you and expect to become a bodybuilder.”
Ms Takash said AI could offer opportunities to those who understand filmmaking but lack resources. However, she warned that as access becomes widespread, originality could be lost.
“Eventually, everybody’s going to have the opportunity to make this kind of content,” she said. “So no one is special, and it is going to be hard to stand out. We can compare this to the early days of streaming and YouTubers.”
Prof Bentley also noted that most AI-generated content is derivative, trained on the work of human artists, which raises copyright concerns. “Artists may need to license their work for use by AIs, or consider legal action against companies that use it without permission,” he said.
No humanity
Nada Majdalawieh, a UAE-based master’s student in TV and screenwriting at Stephens College in Los Angeles, said students are already worried about how AI will affect their careers.
“Storytelling is inherently human and the idea of replacing that with something generated feels like a step backwards rather than forward,” she told The National.
She added that if AI tools take over those creative roles, “we’re not just talking about streamlining a process, we’re eliminating entire career paths for creatives who’ve been working years to find themselves in this industry”.
Ms Majdalawieh said AI could eventually automate everything from scriptwriting to directing. “These aren’t distant hypotheticals,” she said.
“They’re real concerns already looming over us as students. We can all feel it, and honestly, it’s scary.”
New access for creators
Mohammed Mamdouh, filmmaker and assistant professor of film and new media design at the American University of Sharjah, offered a more optimistic view. He said AI can empower voices previously locked out of the industry.
“AI-generated shows and films empower storytellers who might otherwise be sidelined,” he told The National. “That’s a radical shift in access.”
Mr Mamdouh described AI as transformative rather than destructive, calling it “not the death of cinema” but rather “the rebirth.”
However, he cautioned that AI could compromise filmmaking’s collaborative spirit.
When the director “becomes the sole engine prompting alone”, he said, the rich dynamic of working alongside production designers, cinematographers and sound artists may start to erode.
Industry outlook
The AI market in the film industry is projected to grow from $1.28 billion in 2024 to $1.6 billion in 2025 and reach approximately $14 billion by 2033, according to The Business Research Company.
The wider AI in the media and entertainment sector is expected to rise from $25.98 billion this year to nearly $99.48 billion by 2030.
In the Middle East and North Africa, subscription video-on-demand revenue is forecast to hit $1.5 billion by the end of 2025, driven by platforms such as Shahid, Netflix, YouTube Premium and StarzPlay, according to Omdia, a consultancy firm specialising in technology and media.
Analysts say AI could lower production costs and accelerate localisation, while Hollywood studios are already testing hybrid models that blend human creativity with AI-generated visuals.
Future of storytelling
While the technology gains momentum globally, UAE filmmakers and students remain cautious about fully adopting it.
Mr Hashmi believes the pendulum will eventually swing back. “People will crave original stories made by human beings,” he said.
Ms Majdalawieh said students face an uncertain path ahead. “Filmmaking opportunities will still exist for a while,” she said. “But there’s a growing uncertainty about how long that will last.”
Mr Mamdouh said filmmakers must help shape AI’s role in storytelling rather than resist it. “We must shape the future,” he said, “rather than let it shape us.”
On whether AI can truly replicate human emotion, Prof Bentley was sceptical: “If you don’t mind unoriginal and rather drab content, then it will be fine for you. Sounds a bit like many Hollywood movies, so maybe there is a place for AI there.”
His advice to creatives and educators: “Reality is always better than imitation, and AI can only imitate us.”
