The Ethics of Synthetic Performance
The Rise of Digital Actors
AI has made it possible to resurrect actors who have passed away, de-age performers for prequels, or even generate entirely new “faces” to star in films. These synthetic performances can be startlingly convincing. They save money, solve scheduling conflicts, and give studios more control than ever before.
But every shortcut carries a question: what does it mean when the human presence at the center of cinema is replaced by code?
Presence vs. Simulation
Acting has never been about perfection. It has always been about presence.
The way a voice cracks under pressure.
The way eyes hesitate before revealing emotion.
The weight of lived experience behind every line.
AI can imitate these things, but it cannot live them. A synthetic actor can generate the appearance of emotion, but it cannot embody it. Cinema, at its core, is about embodiment.
The Question of Consent
One of the thorniest ethical issues is consent.
When a deceased actor’s likeness is recreated, who decides? Their family? The studio? The algorithm?
When a performer’s digital double is created, how much control do they retain over how it is used?
When an entirely new “actor” is fabricated, what happens to the livelihoods of working performers?
Cinema depends on trust. If audiences can no longer trust that the faces on screen chose to be there, does the medium itself lose integrity?
The Dignity of Work
Performance is work — not just a product, but a craft honed through discipline, vulnerability, and risk. When machines generate performances, that dignity is bypassed.
Replacing actors with digital stand-ins is not just a technological shift; it’s a cultural one. It tells us that the labor of human presence is expendable. And when presence is expendable, so is dignity.
Why It Matters
Some may argue: “If the performance looks real, does it matter?” But cinema is more than what looks real. It is about what is real — the courage of actors who lend their bodies, voices, and histories to stories that change us.
If synthetic performances become the norm, we risk losing the covenant between actor and audience: the promise that what you are watching is the fruit of human expression, not just digital manipulation.
Fragrant Film’s Perspective
At Fragrant Film, we honor performance as sacred. We believe actors are not interchangeable assets but essential witnesses to the human condition. Technology can assist, but it must never erase the dignity of those who bring stories to life.
Cinema deserves more than simulation. It deserves presence.
