Director James Cameron, creator of Skynet and the Terminator, joins the board of an AI firm

I'll be good, honest.
(Image credit: Orion Pictures)

Canadian filmmaker James Cameron was catapulted to fame after directing and writing 1984's The Terminator, a science fiction horror movie in which a cyborg is sent back in time by an AI defense network, Skynet, in order to eliminate the only threat it faces. In this case that means assassinating the mother of John Connor, the man who will one day lead the human resistance. 

The Terminator is one of the all-time great blockbusters, and much of that is down to how it evokes the terror of being pursued by a machine with a machine's purpose. "It can't be bargained with," Kyle Reese explains to Sarah Connor after the first encounter. "It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear." The Terminator is a manifestation of Skynet itself, an AI designed to ensure humankind's security, which long ago concluded that humankind itself was the problem.

Cameron would expand on the backstory of Skynet in Terminator 2: Judgement Day and, thanks to the peerless quality and commercial success of both films, it would be no exaggeration to say that in the popular imagination Skynet has become a byword for rogue AI. Almost like Cameron was trying to warn us about something. 

Fast-forward 40 years, and James Cameron has joined the directors of AI firm Stability. I should say upfront that Stability is not developing an AI defense matrix with nuclear capability, that we know of anyway, but is focused on AI visual tools and video. The firm's best-known product is Stable Diffusion, an AI image generator, and the newer Stable Video Diffusion. 

Cameron's role will centre around AI's use in special effects, and fans will point out that this role makes perfect sense, given his pioneering work in computer-generated imagery and how his films continue to push boundaries in the field. And that is completely true. But the guy invented freaking Skynet and now he's the one in the boardroom at a major AI firm. 

"I’ve spent my career seeking out emerging technologies that push the very boundaries of what’s possible, all in the service of telling incredible stories," said Cameron, pondering whether he should line-up a blade-based metaphor before going for it. "I was at the forefront of CGI over three decades ago, and I’ve stayed on the cutting edge since."

Big Jim reckons "the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave" in the field, and I suppose he should know. His history in visual effects shows not just a pioneering spirit but an aptitude for choosing the right collaborators, and while some may question a few of the latter-day works there is just no arguing with the man's box office sense. I thought Avatar was a total snoozefest, but it used 3D to create some astonishing moments in the cinema, and remains the highest-grossing film ever made. Cameron used AI to help with special effects in 2022's Avatar: the Way of Water, which is the third highest-grossing film of all time. The fourth highest-grossing film ever is Titanic which, love story aside, is an astonishing special effects extravaganza, albeit in that case real effects. 

No wonder the AI wonks want Cameron on board: might be nice to have someone in the field with an inkling of how to wring any profit out of these things. Current AI's creation capabilities can be superficially impressive but the consumer products are a million miles away from the kind of super-polished production Cameron specialises in: This is one of the major directions of travel for special effects, and I doubt anyone knows more about the field than our Skynet-creating friend. 

"We watch Terminator and we form the idea that AI has malicious intentions towards humanity and that it will destroy us in the near future," Rashik Parmar of The Chartered Institute for IT told the BBC. "Cameron has a real opportunity to change the narrative and build a positive view of AI, we’re very happy to work with him on that."

Not quite sure that my inner Kyle Reese will ever die but, if he does, I guess credit James Cameron for changing the narrative once more.

Rich Stanton
Senior Editor

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."

Read more
Actor Adrien Brody (L) and director Brady Corbet (R) attend to "The Brutalist" photocall at Hotel Rosewood Villamagna on January 17, 2025 in Madrid, Spain.
Film director clarifies that historical epic The Brutalist did use AI during production, but not how you think
A robot girl from Judas looks skeptical, her synthetic skin peeling off to reveal metal below.
Bioshock's Big Daddy Ken Levine says that while he doesn't want to 'underestimate' AI, he's 'not overly impressed' by it, either
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 06: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the OpenAI DevDay event on November 06, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Altman delivered the keynote address at the first-ever Open AI DevDay conference.(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
In a mere decade 'everyone on Earth will be capable of accomplishing more than the most impactful person can today' says OpenAI boss Sam Altman
Neuralink
In 2024 Elon Musk predicted that 'hundreds of millions' of people will have his brain chips within the next 20 years, so don't forget to hold him to it
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks about Stargate on January 21, 2025.
'Stargate' is now a real thing, but sadly not a portal to an alien planet: A bunch of tech companies plan to spend $500 billion building AI data centers
The T-1000 wagging its finger at the camera in Terminator 2D: No Fate.
The new Terminator 2D already looks like the best Terminator game since the Genesis, and I'm not kidding
Latest in AI
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Protestors attend the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike Picket on August 15, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Lila Seeley/Getty Images)
8 months into their strike, videogame voice actors say the industry's latest proposal is 'filled with alarming loopholes that will leave our members vulnerable to AI abuse'
live action Jimbo the Jester from Balatro holding a playing card and addressing the camera
LocalThunk forbids AI-generated art on the Balatro subreddit: 'I think it does real harm to artists of all kinds'
Aloy
'Creepy,' 'ghastly,' 'rancid': Viewers react to leaked video of Sony's AI-powered Aloy
Seattle, USA - Jul 24, 2022: The South Lake Union Google Headquarter entrance at sunset.
Google is rolling out an even more AI-heavy search engine mode because 'power users want AI responses for even more of their searches'
A digitally generated image of abstract AI chat speech bubbles overlaying a blue digital surface.
We need a better name for AI, or we risk talking past each other until actually intelligent AGI comes home mooing
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on August 22, 2024.
One educational company accuses Google's AI summary of leading to a 'hollowed-out information ecosystem of little use and unworthy of trust' in latest lawsuit
Latest in News
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Henry from KCD2 wearing nice outfits
'Diversify your fashion endgame' with this Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 mod that gives Henry fly new gambesons, pourpoints, and caftans
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Recently appointed Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Here comes Intel's new CEO: a semiconductor veteran that won the same prestigious award as Jensen Huang and Lisa Su
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Protestors attend the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike Picket on August 15, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Lila Seeley/Getty Images)
8 months into their strike, videogame voice actors say the industry's latest proposal is 'filled with alarming loopholes that will leave our members vulnerable to AI abuse'