The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Friday that AI actors and AI-written screenplays are not eligible for Oscar consideration.

The new rules require that acting roles be demonstrably performed by humans with their consent, and that screenplays be human-authored. The announcement comes days after a digitally recreated version of the late Val Kilmer appeared in a film trailer.

What are the Academy’s new Oscar eligibility rules on AI?

Under the new rules, only roles credited in a film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent are eligible in acting categories.

Screenplays must also be human-authored to qualify in writing categories. AI avatars of performers, including digital recreations of deceased actors, are not eligible regardless of how they were created or consented to by their estates.

What prompted the Academy to act on AI now?

The ruling arrived days after an AI version of Val Kilmer was unveiled to cinema owners, a year after the “Top Gun” star’s death. A digital, youthful recreation of Kilmer appeared in the trailer for the archaeological action film “As Deep as the Grave,” with dialogue directed at another character.

The project was created with support from Kilmer’s family, who granted access to his video archives to recreate him at multiple stages of his life.

The use of artificial intelligence remains one of the most sensitive issues in the entertainment industry. It was central to the 2023 strikes that shut down Hollywood, as actors and writers warned that unchecked technology threatened their livelihoods. The Academy’s new rules formally codify protections that the industry’s unions had long demanded.

How have the rules for the international feature film category changed?

The Academy also updated eligibility rules for the best international feature film category. Previously, only a film selected by an official national grouping could be submitted, which created obstacles for critical films made in authoritarian states. Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” for example, was nominated earlier this year as a submission from France rather than Iran.

Under the revised rules, a non-English language film can now also be submitted if it wins a qualifying award at a major international film festival, including Cannes, Berlin, Busan, Venice or Toronto. The film itself will be deemed the nominee rather than the country. Its director will be listed on the statuette plaque after the film title, along with the country where applicable, the Academy announced.