Demi Moore presses Cannes jury on AI at press conference

Demi Moore used the Cannes Film Festival’s opening-day jury press conference to weigh in on one of Hollywood’s most contested subjects: artificial intelligence. The actor, serving on the feature-film competition jury at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, said on May 12 that the industry should look for ways to work with AI rather than treat it only as an enemy. Her remarks came during the official jury press conference published by Cannes the same day and highlighted in trade and festival coverage. Park Chan-wook, this year’s jury president, joined Moore and fellow jurors Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgård, Chloé Zhao, Laura Wandel, Diego Céspedes, Isaach de Bankolé and Paul Laverty at the session in Cannes, France, on May 12. The festival lists the jury press conference as part of its opening-day materials for the 79th edition, which runs from May 12 to May 23. (variety.com) ### What exactly did Demi Moore say about AI? Demi Moore said the industry was unlikely to win by trying to stop the technology outright. “AI is here,” Moore said, adding that fighting it would amount to “a battle that we will lose,” according to Variety’s account of the press conference. She said a more useful approach would be to find ways “we can work with it.” (festival-cannes.com) Moore also said she did not think the industry was necessarily doing enough to protect itself. Asked whether more regulation was needed, she said, “I don’t know the answer to that,” before adding that her inclination was “probably not.” ### Where did she say it, and was it part of the official Cannes program? The Cannes Film Festival published the “2026 Feature Film Jury – Press Conference” in its media library on May 12. (variety.com) The festival’s press and live-video pages list the event as taking place on May 12 at about 4:30 p.m. local time, alongside other opening-day events. Vanity Fair’s live festival coverage also flagged Moore’s AI comments from the jury press conference. That same live coverage tracked the opening day lineup and noted that Jane Schoenbrun’s “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” was part of the early festival conversation. ### How did Moore frame the limits of AI? Moore said AI could have “beautiful aspects” as a tool, but she argued it could not replace what she described as the human source of art. (festival-cannes.com) In the same exchange, she said true art does not come from something merely technical and said AI could not recreate what comes from “the soul” and “the spirit” of artists. (vanityfair.com) Those comments put Moore in a middle position often heard in film-industry debates: acceptance that AI will be used, paired with insistence that it cannot substitute for human creativity. That characterization is an inference from her remarks at the press conference. ### Was AI the only issue she addressed? Moore also answered a question about politics and artistic expression. (variety.com) Asked whether speaking freely about politics could hurt the movie business, she said, “I would hope not,” and argued that self-censorship can shut down creativity. Park Chan-wook addressed a related question at the same session, saying he did not think politics and art should be treated as conflicting ideas. (variety.com) Variety reported that he said, through a translator, that it was “a strange concept” to think the two were in conflict. ### Who else is on the Cannes jury this year? The 2026 feature-film jury includes Moore, jury president Park Chan-wook, Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgård, Chloé Zhao, Laura Wandel, Diego Céspedes, Isaach de Bankolé and Paul Laverty. (variety.com) Cannes lists that lineup on its press-conference page and in the official event materials. The festival has also published related jury materials, including the May 12 press conference and jury photocall coverage. (variety.com) Those materials remain available through Cannes’ live and media-library pages as the festival continues in France through May 23. (festival-cannes.com 1) (festival-cannes.com 2)